junk – Karla's Cottage

A new venture

antiques/junking, collections, Hand painted, Hand Painted Furniture, hand painted signs, junk

By Karla Nathan / April 29, 2022

I’m so excited to announce that I’ll be setting up my pretties at Good Juju, starting next Friday! It was a rather quick decision, and pretty bad timing because I’m dealing with the after effects of my doodle running joyfully at full speed across a field, straight into my head.

Yep, concussion time again.

I have not felt my best. But because of this head injury, I had to cancel a trip, knowing that I couldn’t do the long drive. Joining the Juju family has been on my mind, so when Pam welcomed me in, I thought I might as well go for starting right away in time for the next sale since I wasn’t going to be traveling after all.

So, I have been combing through my stash, sorting my jewels, stringing banners, and tying up papers to prepare. I’ve had to take a lot of breaks, then stop by 4-5pm because of my eye strain and headache, but I have managed to pull together even more than I expected to.

I will have a small spot, so it wasn’t too hard to fill, even with a headache. And as I feel better throughout this week, I hope to craft more items to bring in.

I’m also doing something new, a sort of “Charm Bar”. I’ve made some sweet charms/pendants with a mix of vintage, crystals, and pretty bits and pieces. Each is ready for a chain, or to be clipped onto a leather or silk cord that I have ready to go, clips added. I love them, and think they will be excellent Mother’s Day or graduation gifts.

Since I am a bit confused now and then, I will not be working at the desk for the sale. But I will be there to visit, please stop to say hi.

https://www.goodjujukc.com

An Estate Sale in Ottawa, KS that opened some floodgates for me

family, junk, Ryan

By Karla Nathan / April 17, 2021

My friend, Angie called me to say she had someone cancel on her and she could use a couple hours of help at an estate sale she was running.

(304 E 11th Street in Ottawa, half price on Saturday the 19th)

While there were plenty of vintagey goods, practical items, and tons of tools for sale, the star of the day was the house itself.

Throughout the day, I explored all of the excellently preserved details of this pristine old house. It made me feel nostalgic for my mom’s house in Sioux City, IA. Hers was from the same era and style, also had that great woodwork and arched entryway doors.

Mom’s home didn’t have the original potties, though. This house had delicious tiling and the baths were updated but not gutted and redone. The rose and black might have been my fave.

(Delicious might not be a good word to describe a bathroom, but, honestly, that color is pretty dang tasty!)

But, no maybe this room is my favorite color combo- the soft green with a hint of lilac? How springy and delightful!

The woodwork throughout was magnificently crafted too. And filled with French doors. My mother took her French doors off and stored them in the basement for some odd reason. Maybe so my crazy, wild boys wouldn’t ride a tricycle through them.

They weren’t the only kids raised in that place, it was also the childhood home of Ann Landers and Dear Abby. I have a feeling the advice sisters weren’t as rambunctious as my kiddos, but then not many were.

Luckily, this was marked NFS, or it would’ve been in the back of my pickup, and I do not need it.

I sure WANT it.

The basement was filled with the original workings of the old place, and that again brought back memories of Mom’s house on Nebraska Street. There was a laundry chute here just like the one my sons threw all of their toys down.

Visions of two year old Adam dropping trucks down onto four year old Ryan’s head in the basement were bittersweet. And I laughed out loud with tears in my eyes as I recalled running down the hall and screaming, “Noooo! The dog cannot go down the chute!” Just in time to save that poor little schnauzer.

It has been a rough week for me, I definitely needed this day out to work with Angie. The added bonus of spending the day in a home that brought so many forgotten times rushing back was good..

May is coming up, and it is filled with land mines for my heart. My birthday and Mother’s Day were dates that Ryan never failed to make me feel treasured on.

Then the end of May brings the anniversary of his death.

It is still April, but the mere thought of May has been wringing tears out of me while anticipating the calendar page about to turn.

And horrifically, some dear friends recently lost their son. I spent a week making a journal/album for him and feeling their pain with each drop of glue I used.

On top of that, I’ve had someone I trust turn on me and flip my view of our relationship up and twist it around.

Memories can be a blessing and a curse at the same time. All I can do for now is roll with the emotions, enjoying the stories that play in my mind while missing my boy.

Bad things happen, sadness continues to occur, but I need to hang out to those good memories and think about those funny little boys with the giant pile of toys under the laundry chute in the basement.

Or I will never survive this. Those memories need to be my lifeline.

Some things are meant to be

cottage, Hearth Room, junk

By Karla Nathan / September 24, 2016

I'd been hoping to add some old trim to the new room, to age it up a bit. There were quite a few options I'd seen, but I kinda knew what I had in mind and didn't want to rush a purchase just to have something on the wall, I was willing to wait for ideal, not just okay.

Beth was setting up a booth at Sandy's annual show in Lee's Summit, and I went to help her. I was standing in her spot and said, that I'd bet this show was a good place to look around for trim. As I said it, I saw these pieces directly across the aisle in a booth by some Good JuJu ladies. I ran right over and snagged them before the show even opened. (if you are ever invited to help a friend set up a space in an antique show, jump on the opportunity for some pre-show shopping! Better yet, volunteer your services so you know you won't miss out)

Normally, I'm not driving my husband's truck. The show was over an hour away, it wouldn't have been easy to run home to get the truck, but luckily I'd taken it that day to pick up some chicken feed. The trim is very light weight and was too long for me to shut the tail gate. It was lucky that I had that chicken feed back there to use as an anchor to keep the trim from blowing away on my way home.

This is probably the only time I'd ever gone to the feed store on my own, my husband always picks up the bags, so yes, this was a very lucky happenstance to have both the truck and the heavy bags of grain in the back of it so I could take these perfect strips of tin home with me.

See what I mean??!! Perfect for the spot. Rustic and old, but with a pretty design. Ryan and I used tin snips to cut them to fit and then hung them on screws. We didn't have a drill bit for metal, so we simply put screws in the wood wall and hung these onto them. Someday, I'll get the right drill bit and put them up better.

For now, I'm happy with them as they are, and I doubt if they will fall down.

I found Hat Heaven (and the giveaway winner)

antiques/junking, flowers, give away, junk, Travel, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / June 21, 2012

Our trip to NC was just perfect.

A highlight was a shopping day with my sis-in-law.

Actually, we had TWO fun afternoons of junking. Our first was at the Vintage Village, and I was captivated the minute we got out of the car.

And the best part of it all was Susanna's Antiques, where I went to meet my blog friend, Jenny.

She and her mom have a cute as a bug shop together- filled with too much to fit in my suitcase…

(yep, my eyes are closed in this photo, of course)

Another friend, Becca, took a break from work, and came by to visit too.

The mall was just wonderful. If I needed a light fixture, I'd be looking there for it. They had the best selection of old chandies at good prices that I have seen in a long, long time.

And the atmosphere of the whole area was just plain fun. I loved all the little cottages and piles of junk out doors amid the plants and flowers. The best part was a fresh fruit stand where we bought ripe Carolina peaches and washed them in a garden hose to eat while we walked around.

I had some great food while on our trip, but those peaches were hard to beat.

Then, I saw the hats. Hats, hats, hats everywhere!!!!!!!!!

Hat Heaven.

If you need floral hats, head to see Jenny. But wait a bit, I cleaned her out for now.

Don't worry, she has plenty of other pretty things to buy.

I don't know why I didn't buy this print.

But I did snag this story book for my grand fairies.

Jenny had some of her work there for sale too, she makes these vintage brooch bouquets for brides.

And how sweet is this? This bracelet was a gift from her.

The next day, my sis-in-law, Sandy, and I went to the flea. There is one every weekend at the fair grounds, and it was a good one. I bought a ton more flowers and hats, as well as bags full of broken rhinestoney jewelry.

I bought so many hats, that I had to pull all the flowers off to make them fit into my suitcase. Sandy was horrified, she collects old hats and thought I was too ruthless. But she ended up helping, and we sat on the balcony of her son's home drinking wine, plucking hats and playing with her little Yorkies.

Now that we are home, Sandy, Dixie, and Daisy have come to stay with us for a while. They'll be good for Twinkle, she misses her Agnes Rosebud.

That is, if she doesn't try to rip their cute, fuzzy heads off. She doesn't like many dogs.

After a few days with family in Raleigh, we drove to the Outer Banks. This was a work trip for my husband, I was just tagging along, which is a nice way to travel. For me at least, my poor husband had to work all day while I goofed off on the beach.

He was able to be done working in time for romantic walks on the beach, and watching the sunset on the sound. Then, stuffing ourselves with locally caught seafood.

We stayed in Duck, NC and it was a very peaceful, quiet beach. I wonder why there weren't more people there? It was beautiful.

Oh, I forgot to announce the winner of my giveaway!! This collage goes to:

Linda Owen Postma

Happy Birthday to Beth

junk, kitties, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / June 17, 2012

We got back from our trip just in time for me to celebrate Beth's birthday with her.

She is notoriously hard to shop for, because she is the world's best shopper. If she wants it, she'll find it.

So, I prettied a box up with vintage wallpapers, made her a necklace, and filled the box with tibbits I thought she'd enjoy working with. Because its always fun to get new arty supplies!

I asked her what she wanted to do to celebrate and she said she was going to her regular, twice a month auction. Years ago, I used to go with her to this auction, but since I closed my antique mall booth, it became too dangerous for me to attend. I have a history of always buying the heaviest thing in the whole place every time I go, and since I no longer drive a van, or have a booth to put big heavy pieces into, I just don't need to buy that kind of junk. Even though I can't seem to stop myself.

This time, I proudly constrained my urges to buy big things, and just picked up a few smalls that I didn't need.

It helped that the auction goods that were offered that night kind of sucked.

Big time.

The auctioneer even seemed bored with the offerings and started playing games with it all, like seeing how high he could stack them.

This is a stack I couldn't resist, even though it wasn't very heavy. I paid $17 for all of these Oz books. And I bought a flat of Oz dolls for Sugarwings. Beth mentioned that it wasn't complete, there was no Dorothy. But I assured her that we might have a couple around here to fill out the set. Lil Sugarwings is a bit of a Dorothy fan.

While the goods for sale weren't all that good, the company was, and we laughed and chatted all night. I packed a birthday picnic to feast on and pretty paper plates and napkins to serve it on. It ended up being such fun, I was wishing I had a birthday coming up to spend there.

Its good to be home, and I have plenty of vaca photos to show. But for now, here is what greeted me when I returned, our new cat. She was a stray that decided to adopt us, and Sugarwings has named her Sweet Sweet Sweety. (that name is said really fast with some jumping up and down, each time it is said)

She is a pretty cat. Or he is a handsome cat, I'm not sure yet which.

Twinkle is not around right now, she has gone to see her boyfreind for a week or so. Looks like our vacation ended just in time to get her over to see him, so we'll be having some puppies in August! Maybe about on Sugarwing's birthday, August 16th.

Making a new home for the hens

bird song art event, junk

By Karla Nathan / March 29, 2012

Yay, Birdsong is full! Last week, I had a flurry of inquiries and it filled up fast. Sponsor gifts are coming in for it, this sweet package came from Tricia.

I'm quite impressed with the care that people put into hand making pretty things for our gathering!

There will be chockful goodie bags as well as drawing prizes. I plan on having enough individual gifts so that everyone will win one. Maybe two…

Most of my prizes are ready to go, I've got a few more to make. But this weekend, I got side tracked with yard work and baby sitting fairies, while the guys built a chicken coop.

We have an old shed in our yard that has had a number of incarnations, but started off originally as a chicken coop. Its been a club house for Jr. High aged boys, a wood working shop, an antique store, a peacock pen, storage unit, and now back to its roots, its going to house hens again.

Being a pack rat pays off sometimes. We had a pile of old chain link panels out along the back of the property and were able to piece them together to make the chicken run. All we had to buy were a few fasteners. We even had a roll or two of chicken wire stashed away in the shed.

Looks kind of haunted, doesn't it? I hope it doesn't frighten the birds too much. What do you call a hen that is afraid of ghosts?

A chicken.

This is the back of the building, its divided in two, and this side will still be storage. Not exactly air tight…but its good enough to toss lawn chairs into for the winter.

I'll leave you with some pictures of a few newbies in the Boutique

This last journal is acutally a kit, and comes with a selection of papers, ribbon, lace and pretties to further embellish the book with.

Born to be loved

Dew Drop, junk, Music

By Karla Nathan / November 20, 2011

Last weekend, we went to see Lucinda Williams, right here in Lawrence. My Handsome Husband and I are big fans and had hoped to get to Dallas to see her but couldn't make it. Last year we caught her show in Chicago, she is worth a trip to go see. We were thrilled to see she was going to be playing in our own town, at Liberty Hall.

Its an old opera house and I always love to go there to see movies. I never tire of the cool paintings on the walls, its a wonderful old building with lots of history.

We went early enough to get some super good seats too. Center front row of the first balcony. Practically looking right into her sad eyes all night.

Here is a little snippet of one of her songs. It wasn't typical lyrics for her, these were rather upbeat. She usually sings about heartbreak, so "You Were Born to be Loved" was a pleasant surprise for me.

That is such a great sentiment. Sometimes it suits junk too, not just lonely people.

I was at Beth's house the other day, after she had been doing some cleaning and downsizing. As we pulled out of her driveway, this little bride's head was peaking out of the trash and I yelled, "Stop the car!" because it looked so funny, I had to take a picture. But when I got closer, I saw that this baby was not trash-worthy and just needed some love. And I was too taken with the doll to get the photo at the right angle that looked so funny from the car, with her head just peeping over the edge of the can.

Sugarwings was thrilled with my save. In her imaginary world, everyone is about to have love's first kiss and become a bride with a long white dress. She is fascinated by weddings and brides, and keeps a photo of my husband and I on our wedding day by her bedside.

There are so many things that I feel like its my job to save and love. Its an obsession. I'd rather alter, restore, or refurbish something that is ruined or just out of date than do practically anything else.

Like this little birdie. It had seen better days, poor guy had ripped wings, missing feathers and a torn up body.

To me, she was just waiting to be saved.

I glued her and her equally tattered sis back together, gave their tummies and cheeks a blush of pink ink, added fresh white feathers, glued mica to their wings and clear glass glitter to the rest of them. The bright orange beek got camouflaged with silver glitter, for a look that will coordinate better with my Christmas tree where they are going to be nesting.

After that, I replaced thier orange plastic eyes with pearl beads on one and black rhinestones on the other.

After that, some jewels and a crown.

There are a few of these crowns for sale in my boutique. They are actually rings and really pretty to wear. I've sold dozens and dozens of them over the years to adorn the fingers of my shoppers.

But, now, I am marking them down to make them a reasonable price to use in projects. I only have a few left, you can find them here if you have a doll or bird or someone else that needs to be shown a little love.

Or if you want one to wear. I wear mine all the time.

ps- there are lots of new things in both shops, and they will be pictured in upcoming posts.

Speaking of sweet things born to be loved, this little fairy is perfect as is.

She had her first birthday last week! At first she was a bit leery of the flames on the cupcakes.

But once she had some help getting them blown out, she was very much into her treat. She got to help a little bit in making the icing for the cupcakes, I had her hold onto the mixer with me.

Before I know it, she'll be big enough to join Sugarwings and me at one of our favorite past time, baking. For now, she's pretty happy with being our taste tester.