paintings – Page 20 – Karla's Cottage

Over the top? Why of course!

fairies, family, how to's, magazine pictures or articles, paintings

By Karla Nathan / March 26, 2008

So many people were asking me about the mural I did on my baby B-I-L, Randy’s, floor, that I thought I would post more photos.

Here are a couple of snaps of it that I have in my scrap book.

This little fishy is drawn in the scrapbook too. He is a reminder of the one painted by the threshold in Randy’s craft room, kind of like a Walmart greeter, for everyone who comes in. We named him "Wallerford" after the Walmart greeter and the beautiful crystal Waterford glasses we were sipping our champagne from while we painted. Randy does know how to treat his guests right!

Here is Wallerford in person. Please ignore the twig laying on him, and by the way, it is a good idea to sweep the floor before photographing it, if you don’t want sticks in the picture.

Last year, I did a how-to on painting a concrete floor. If you’d like to read it, you can find it here.

Randy’s craft room was painted in stages. One night, years ago, we started painting family and friends on his wall as fairies.

It became a tradition, every time I’d go to Jacksonville to visit him that we would listen to show tunes (we both love Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, and Dreamgirls), drink champagne, and add more paintings to the room.

Now, two walls are a fairy forest, this is what the rest of the room looks like, a garden wall and sky.

Little whimsical details are everywhere. Like this frog chatting with a dragonfly while holding a champagne glass.

And one trip to visit was spent making the ceiling a sky.

After that, he HAD to pull up the carpet and turn the floor into a pond. What kind of magical, fairyland garden is carpeted??

Now, every inch of that room is all muralled up. I still add characters when I go now, there will always be room for a flying puppy, or Randy’s best friend as an elf somewhere in the gardens.

While I had my photo album out to get these pictures of Randy’s craft room, I came across these pics of "Jayhawks on Parade" and with the Kansas Jayhawks doing well in March madness, I thought I’d show you some of the work I did on the giant Jayhawk sculptures that were on display in Lawrence, KS a couple years ago.

This peacock represented team pride and was commissioned by the Art Center. It is painted in iridescent colors and features stained glass mosaic.

The "Marvelous Mosaic Floral Fantasy Joyous Jewelhawk" is the gaudiest thing ever! And you know I love gaudy.

Hand painted flowers, mosaics, beads, old jewelry, and more- this creature is one blinged up baby.

Over the top? Well, yep, just the way I like things.

Speaking of Blinged up, tomorrow (Thursday March 27) is our Bling your birdhouse day.

Hope to see you there!

Remember, I will be giving away one gaudy home for birds to someone who leaves a comment on the party post.

Oh, and GO Jayhawks!!

Somerset Life is chocked full of bloggers!

Etsy Goodies, magazine pictures or articles, paintings, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / March 24, 2008

I received my advanced copy of Somerset Life and it is delicious! The best Easter treat that I got this weekend!

I was so happy to see so many of my favorite bloggers featured in it and can’t wait to fill up the tub with bubbles and take a nice long soak to read this cover to cover.

My collaged business card was used in one shot, and I was surprised and happy to see that! My collage kits (inspired by my Sissy) are on pages 52-54

And my framed vintage doll dress is on 126.

But my favorite thing about the whole magazine (of course, I haven’t read it all yet, mostly I have just looked through it), is the article by Jenny Holiday. What she has to say about blogging expresses my feelings so exactly, that I could just hug her.

There is also a GREAT article by my pal "The" Heather (a joke she and I have, I always add "the" to her name), Heather Bullard. (page 18-21).

And a photo from my pal, Natasha is on page 132.

And who doesn’t love to read anything that Sandra writes? She is on 76, and 96-97. There are TONS of our favorite bloggers and artists in this issue, it’s a good one!

Heather is in multiple magazines out right now and so is Sandra. My BBF, Beth, had this to say "I think its so interesting that blogs are really the trend setters and the magazines are reporting on it." and I believe that she has something there. Aren’t blogs fascinating? No wonder you see so much of what is going on in the blog world and in blogger’s home printed into magazines any more. We are now getting double the pleasure, getting to read the blogs on a regular basis with in depth stories and then see the featured articles in magazines that we can tear out and save (You all have those files don’t you? The torn out pictures of what you’ll do someday? Don’t we all???)

I worked on a proposed article and a second secret project today with my photographer/artist friend, Diane Guthrie.

No details yet, on the project we shot today, I’ll let you know when I know! Here is some of the ideas involved, I am taking some of my artwork and using glazes and crackle finishes on copies of it.

I am going to be in a local art show this spring, here in Lawrence and hope to get a few of these made up to sell. That hydrangea is one of my favorite paintings that I have ever done.

And since I painted this one in my mom’s hospital room as I was keeping her company in her last few weeks, I can’t sell it. But, I have found a way to make attractive copies and sell those.

I hope to list some in my Etsy shop soon too, but the days seem to be getting away from me, and I just can’t quite keep up with everything I want to get done.

And why can’t I keep up with my work anymore? Well, look at this sweet little face and see why I get so distracted! When she tilts her chin up and looks at me that way, there is no way on Earth I can go to my studio and work, I have to scoop her up in my arms and go play a game or sing a song. Work will always be waiting for me later…..

Which reminds me, I am still working on birdhouses for the big, blingy, birdhouse bash on Thursday. Hope to see you there!

You are welcome to add the birdhouse button to your blog if you’d like. If you don’t have a blog, please post pics to Flickr. (An account is free and VERY easy to set up)

Greetings! A mini tutorial on making some greeting cards with vintage papers

family, how-to projects, paintings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 18, 2008

My baby brother-in-law, Randy, has started making cards and has been asking for a bit of advice.

I offered to send him a box of goodies to use, and he said he didn’t know what to do with pages from an old book or vintage wallpaper.

So, I am making these cards with some how to’s for him to follow along with when he gets his package of vintage delights in the mail from me.

(All of these cards have been created with pre-made linen cards from Michaels.)

The first one is on a white card. I started by laying the card onto the wallpaper and cutting out a piece to fit with an exacto knife.

The piece of wallpaper was then attached to the card with a glue stick.

After the glue dried, I sanded the edges with the sponge sanding block, for a smooth finish.

As if vintage wallpaper isn’t old enough… I ‘aged’ the sanded edges with the side of my ink pad. This color is distressed walnut.

After the base of the card is ready, then the fun part happens! Time to embellish-

I cut an oval from a page torn out of a 1917 book with French text, and inked the edges with the walnut ink, then added a smaller oval of a coordinating wallpaper to the center and to that added a gold foil butterfly.

Some old brown ribbon and a single bloom of an old millinery flower are arranged across the bottom. I glued a crystal rhinestone (I only use glass ones, never plastic) to the center.

Right now these stones are on clearance at Hancock Fabrics for 75% off.

For a touch more sparkle, I’ve used a Martha Stewart glue pen to draw dots around the small oval of wallpaper.

I then dusted my favorite glitter over the glue.

As much as I hate to make Martha even more wealthy than she already is, I just HAVE to buy her glitter. It really is so good to work with! I use the fine ones, for a sheer look.

This card starts with a reddish-pink, kind of an azalea color, paper as its base.

Decorative scissors were used to cut out the French book page and the vintage wallpaper.

After gluing down the papers, I once again inked the edges. This time, I blended the ink a bit with a cosmetic sponge.

These old papers can be very fragile, so do this gently.

To finish, I added a snip of embroidered old ribbon, a mother of pearl button, and a teeny butterfly shaped button.

(Randy grows a butterfly garden, so the flowers and butterflies are some of his favorite things)

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, old red flocked wallpaper that I got from Allissa is glued on to a warm pink card for this one, traced with an exacto knife and inked on the edges the same way the first card was done.

After, I used 2 different decorative scissors to cut out the French book page, and a color copy of one of my own paintings.

At the bottom is a brass charm accented with 3 pink crystals.

One last how-to for Randy, this card has a pretty cornflower blue base.

To it, I added a strip of wallpaper cut with decorative scissors, and a piece of anaglypta wallpaper that I have aged with an umber glaze.

After the wallpaper was glued into place, I inked the edges with the side of the walnut ink pad.

In the center is an oval of the French book pages, and a German die cut.

To finish it off and add some glitz, three little crystals in the same blue are glued to the border of the anaglypta paper.

While I was making these examples for Randy, I thought he’d appreciate a kit for each one. While I was at it, I made a little extra.

I had enough bits to make two kits of three cards each.

Everything I used to make my own is in the kit and ready to be glued and mailed out to someone special (Mother’s Day is coming up, before you know it)

The pieces are already cut with decorative scissors, all you will need to complete the cards is:

glue

ink

glitter

glue pen

exacto knife

If you are interested, email or leave a comment. Each 3 card kit is $12, including postage. (unless overseas)

The last time I went to visit Randy, he and I painted the floor of his craft room to look like a pond.

I wish I could be back there in his colorful room and make cards with him, but isn’t the Internet great? I hope he reads this and feels like I am there with him.

I love you baby brother!!

It took a few days, but I am finally done with the stairs!

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), how to's, paintings, redos

By Karla Nathan / March 4, 2008

Its done! whew, am I glad. So are the dogs, they have been penned up way too much to keep them out of the construction mess. Plus, I knew that Twinkle wouldn’t be too much help with the stair painting. She’s helped me paint before and it usually means tiny little footprints across the room.

Remember last week, I had this?

Now look!!

My stairway had been quite the hodgepodge of wall art, none of it really went together. It was dark, gloomy,a nd I could never keep that carpet clean.

Plus, we have an old house, but the upstairs addition is only 15 years old. I always thought that the stairs looked too modern, plus the whole area was just blah.

Because I was too short to reach up into the corners of the ceiling, I had to paint the walls and ceiling both the same color, I simply couldn’t cut in with a brush. It all had to be done with a roller on a pole.

I am a big believer in painting your ceilings a color instead of white. but might have preferred some contrast here. Oh well, its so much better than before!!

I also edited and rearranged the artwork hanging on the walls. (of course, that also means that I had to redo a wall in another room to make space for the family pictures I took down from the stairway, but I already said, one redo automatically leads to another!)

While I had them all down, I painted the frames white and distressed them. It is a much more cohesive look. Instead of it being the place where my unsold watercolors go to die, it looks like a gallery! (well, not quite, it is still full of rejected paintings!)

While I had the white paint out, I redid all the wood work too, including the banister and the old door at the top of the steps.

A little splash of Strawberry Whopper Pink in the background livens up my living room a bit too.

The thermostat had always bothered me, since it was glaring white. I toned down the brightness with some glaze, and also glazed the closet door next to the sofa.

I had to do the same with all of the steps and trim. After painting them a semi-gloss, bright white, I brushed a pale coffee with cream color glaze into the crevices and cracks, then wiped it all down with a wet rag torn from an old T shirt.

Next, I wallpapered each riser with some gorgeous, old vintage rose wallpaper I’d bought on Ebay. I used Elmer’s glue instead of wallpaper paste, for a tight hold.

When I stood back and looked at the finished work, I was worried it was just way, way too much.

The wallpaper was in such good shape, it didn’t look old!! Too white and too perfect.

So, out came the glazes again, and I toned down the glaring newness and some of the busy-ness of the steps. They are still pretty durn busy, but in a way I can live with now.

And since I was redoing…. Beth had given me this iron arch, it was originally brown. (yes, she is a great friend to have around, isn’t she??? I bought her lunch, but think this arch is worth more than that.)

I painted it white and glazed over it too. Then painted the mirror white, it had been gold, and I’ve used it as a center piece for my white dining room table since Christmas. But I am getting a new table this week!! The top of it is pecan, not painted, so the gold mirror, just wasn’t going to work there any more. Plus, it is always time for a change!

Since I had already repainted or glazed:

stairway walls

stairway ceiling

door at the top of the stairs

banister

steps

kick board

trim

closet door

thermostat

the picture frames

iron arch

mirror

Then, I figured, why not paint the corner cabinet in the dining room, so it will look better with the new table that I am getting this week? It had been a white-white, and I painted it more of a creamy white. Not a big deal to most people, I guess, but it mattered to me. I added the ornate piece at the top of it. I had to stand on a step ladder and hold it in place for about 20 minutes, waiting for the liquid nails to dry. But I took a book with me, it needs to be read before book club next week and I keep putting it off. So, there I was trapped for a bit, with nothing else to do, a perfect time to get some reading done!

Some Easter-y cuteness

Etsy Goodies, paintings, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / February 23, 2008

Today, was a blingy birdhouse day, getting ready for my tutorial on Monday on how to foof up a birdie home.

But, I figured that I’d need to straighten up my work table a bit if I was going to be taking step by step pictures. That turned into a major clean up/redo, trying to make my area more efficient. It took up most of the day, but it was worth the effort, it is so nice to have a cleaned up workspace!

Here is one thing I came up with, a shopping cart full of partial rolls of vintage wallpaper, handy and easy to get to as I needed them right by my chair.

On Monday, I don’t know if my post can actually be called a "tutorial" it will be more like some helpful tips and suggestions on how I do my own birdhouses.

I guess I could have called it "Birdhouse Bling Short Cuts and how to Avoid Things that I Learned the Hard Way"

Beth and I are having a party and showing our birdhouses, kind of a
"What do you LOVE about your birdie’s home" day on Thursday March 27th.

We are asking everyone to post photos of birdhouses you have fixed up and want to swap or sell,( or just keep and enjoy. )

Or, if you’d like, just show off some of your favorite birdhouses you have around your home or gardens. Although, hopefully not all of you have gardens buried in the snow like mine is right now.

Most of the bling kits I had listed on Etsy have sold, but I have a couple left and will try to get more made up. And if you are interested in being a part of our Bird House Bling Day, you can read the details on this post.

Sugarwings and her little cousin, Madison, are coming over tomorrow and I wanted to have a gift for the little girls.

With Easter coming up, I thought they’d look cute in matching shirts.

Michaels had some glitter and pearl paints on sale for TWENTY FIVE CENTS each!!! And I wanted to play with them, so baby girl’s shirts were just perfect for experimenting on.

And it looks like the poor little child could use a new shirt!!

Actually, she had an impromptu sleep over here last night and ran out of clothes. Her grandpa dressed her in a pair of his socks and one of my painting t-shirts while we waited for the dryer load containing some things that might fit her a bit better.

Once we had her dressed a bit more appropriately, and she went back home, I hit the studio, got it cleaned up and got a few things made. A few birdhouses, the painted shirts, and also this piece.

The glue is still wet, and you can see the clamps holding the vintage velvet ribbon hanger in place as it dries.

The picture is a watercolor I did of a pink striped bunny. I mounted it on a sturdy piece of cardboard, over two really pretty wallpapers (vintage- of course!).

I had some gorgeous old velvet ribbon in white and pink, used that, a string of pearl beads and some millinery flowers to "frame" it.

Hopefully, I will get it listed on Etsy tomorrow. I am ready to quit for the day now and go relax for the rest of the evening. My husband is in town for a couple of more days, so I need to spoil him with some home cooking, not sit out here on the computer all night!

The Blue Bird of Happiness flew in with 3 giveaways for February!

Etsy Goodies, give away, paintings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / February 3, 2008

Has any one seen this One World One Heart giveaway? It is a group effort by Lisa Ocean Dreamer and she has linked a ton of bloggers who will be giving away gifts on Valentines Day.

I haven’t had a chance to enter more than a couple of drawings yet. I want to wait until I have time to sit back, relax and browse through all the wonderful new blogs that I haven’t seen yet, plus visit some old friends I haven’t been by to see in a while.

I’d like to offer this large altered tag as my giftie for the event.

It features hand painted roses, old wallpaper, glitter, and vintage jewelry- all my faves!

That makes THREE GIVEAWAYS for February for me!

Here is the list and the rules to enter my 3 drawings:

1. One World One Heart-leave a comment on THIS post only to enter

2. One Year Blog Anniversary on Valentines Day- leave a comment on any post up till the 13th, all are entered.

3. My regular monthly drawing– leave a comment any time all month, any post, all are entered.

I have been enjoying myself, playing with wallpaper all weekend. I have a bad cold, terrible cough and a fever that comes and goes, so in my delirium, who knows what I might end up creating?

Maybe I should just go to bed and rest, but I seem to be on a roll and very productive right now. Plus, if I lay down, I feel like I am drowning in my own snot (well, I guess that goes without saying, I sure wouldn’t want to be drowning in someone else’s snot).

So, I have stayed in my studio slicing and dicing wallpaper, mostly making books.

I felt like experimenting with the binder I bought. I might take it back, but I am not sure yet. I kind of liked using it to make these wallpaper journals, or scrapbooks. What ever they are.

Each page is a different vintage paper, ready for embellishments. I think these will be the perfect backgrounds for some one who wants to make a unique book, or a special photo album, and who loves old wallpaper!

I purposely left a lot of space for adding goodies. The pages are fit loosely into the binder, and there is room to expand.

I know that when I work on a scrapbook, I tend to make it so thick it won’t close anymore. Hopefully the way I assembled these will help out with that problem.

Plus, I was feverish and didn’t want to make anything complicated. I simply was cutting and gluing and binding. And I LOVE the collections of old papers. Yum. Or as Sugarwings says now, "Numms"

I did make a few other things too, when my fever abated and I was feeling like trying something more creative than cutting out pages.

I also spent some time listing things on Etsy.

This box is something I had made in the past and used to keep some supplies in. I thought it deserved a better life, instead of being stuck in a drawer full of magnets, like I had it. So, I listed it in my shop.

I also listed some paper doll dresses.

This one is a tutu.

I also decided to make another magic wand to send to Somerset Life. (The editor did like the photos of my last ones and asked to have them sent in, but that doesn’t guarantee that they will be used.) Keep your fingers crossed for me!

I just had to make this one. The stuff spread out on my messy work table practically assembled itself!

Don’t you love it when all the odds and ends in the craft room seem to just belong together? My Sissy sent the silk ribbon and rose with her book pages for our swap. The ribbon looked so beautiful with the flocked wallpaper I had just cut a book cover out of.

The crowns and wooden cut out birds were left laying on the table from making recipe swap book covers. And the wand itself? I finally packed away the Christmas decor from my studio (yay!) and had broken the handle off of a sleigh. It was laying in the pile of debris that I work out of.

Sometimes, being messy pays! All of these things that had been tossed aside, just called out to me from the chaos and like I said, practically made them selves. That is magic, huh??

She is the Blue Bird of Happiness and is ready to grant happy wishes to all.

I just wish she’d make my cold go away.

I’m off to make more wallpaper books, and watch the PBS marathon of the Jane Austen movies. They are starting in a couple minutes, so my spell checking might not be as good as usual. Blame the delirium from the fever too, if this is illegible.

Cold hands, warm NOTHING- I’m a popsicle and Twinkle is a pupsicle

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, fairies, I do tend to run on, don't I?, paintings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 20, 2008

Beth is now a contributer to The Vintage Workshop. Her how to projects will be in upcoming newsletters. Sign up HERE for a free newsletter and learn all of her crafty tricks!

Thanks for all the nice comments about the pictures of my home in the snow. Here is a photo of the front of the house. Like I said, it is a weird one, we have added on so many times, it is a conglomeration of different shapes and styles stuck together!

It is still FREEZING here. I can’t get warm, no matter how many pairs of socks I wear or shirts I layer on. The part of the house that is about to turn 100 is drafty, the new part is on a cement slab. No where is warm when it is this cold outside!

My studio/office has a cement floor and Twinks refuses to stay down there. I can’t keep her off of my lap for anything. It isn’t that easy to type with her helping me, but painting is even worse.

So, I put away the brushes and decided to work on more recipe book covers for the swap.

Some are going way over the top.

I wonder, is my resolution to use my ‘good’ supplies making my work a bit too much?

This one is a little bit more restrained, but uses some of my favorite things.

I covered this 25 cent wooden cut out from Michaels in old, pink wallpaper, then painted her up a bit, and added a glitzy necklace with a heart charm. (it dangles)

Isn’t the image I used wonderful??? Sissy found a website and emailed it to me.

It is a blog run by a generous person who posts vintage pictures and ephemera to share!

Check it out, the Graphics Fairy has a lot of great pics to offer!

(I drew the crown onto this lovely lady that I downloaded from her)

After I finished this cover, I realized- it had no roses!

Maybe I will add a rose to the hair of one of the ballerinas. hey- wait, it looks like their dresses already are garlanded in roses! That qualifies!!

I liked tying tidbits to the bottom of it, a rusty key, a heart charm with a red stone, and the last tassel from the pillow that Twinkle chewed up.(waste not- want not)

And how beautiful is this??

Last night, I went to an art opening that some of my friends were a part of.

I was delirious about this beaded piece! Laurie said she worked on it for a YEAR. The time she put into it certainly shows.

I would love to own it, but it is slightly (ha) out of my budget. (but worth every penny of the $6,000 price tag)

Laurie offered to custom make a single square for me at an extremely reasonable price and I almost teared up.

She asked me to pick a style I liked. So, I pointed out about a dozen that I loved most, and told her that I liked the soft colors, and to surprise me with one.

It was hard to choose, I just couldn’t. I loved them all.

Here is our group of art appreciators in front of one of Linda Baranski’s paintings. (I am the one with the spinach between my front teeth- the food was great there!)

I wore two shirts and a big heavy furry lined sweater. I cannot get warm this week.

I wish that it would warm up even just to NORMAL winter cold. This single digit stuff is creeping into my poor old bones and starting to get me down.

It is so cold, I haven’t gotten done nearly what I wanted to this week. I should work out in the studio till midnight or so, but I am giving up and going in to sit by the fire and shiver. I’d go and rent a movie to watch, but that would involve going outdoors.

This is a box I had made previously, but to make myself feel productive, I listed it on Etsy. I didn’t make anything to sell today, but I felt better having listed something.

SOLD-THANKS!

I am nearing the end of the book covers.

Soon, soon, I will be done with them. I have loved making each and every one, but it has been a big job!

Of course, I am already trying to think of a good idea for a new swap with Beth, we have loved hosting this one so much!

But before I do, there are some projects I want to make, and things I want to create to sell on Etsy.

Hopefully, there will be photos coming in the next week or so!

I can’t say NO

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, give away, paintings, Sugarwings, swaps

By Karla Nathan / January 18, 2008

Can you restrain your self when you see a bargain?? Apparently I can’t.

I’d never tried Bath and Body Works shampoo and conditioner before, but it was on clearance for $3 a bottle. I figured, for that price it would make my little Dorkies smell good if I didn’t like it for myself.

Well, I tried it and decided it was the best shampoo I’d ever tried! My hair felt so soft and smelled so good. I am not wasting this stuff on the dogs!

I went back and bought a couple more…. but I am not hoarding it- I am giving sets to all my friends. (This photo is after I have already packed up a couple sets for buddies. )

NOT HOARDING is my goal for this year. I have adored working on the Sweet Treats book covers and using my favorite things on them, no holding back and saving bits and pieces for "something better"!

See, look at this rose!! I have been hanging on to this waiting for a good excuse to use it. But today, I just plucked it out of the pile of flowers and glued it right down with no second thoughts.

And it made me smile!

This card was one of the first I made when Beth and I planned the swap.

It was a prototype, and we decided we needed heavier cardboard for the covers, this was too flimsy.

So, along with my "waste not want not" New Years resolution and my Not Hoarding resolution, I decided to add a bunch of stuff to it and make it into something else.

Same with this cover, it wasn’t heavy enough for a book. So, I foofed and painted and added goodies to it.

Both of these are available in my Etsy Shop. I have been listing some things today and hope to add more tomorrow., unless of course I get sidetracked, which happens around here a lot.

Yesterday I got NOTHING done at all.

I started the day with great intentions.

It is snowy and cold, and I planned to stay in and work all day. I have 8 more book covers to make and a few more of my own recipe pages to finish gluing on.

(this photo is of my art studio, garage, and my husband’s office, the main part of the old house is hidden by the trees. The house is L shaped. Its an oddly built home)

Ryan had my wheelbarrow full of firewood, and like I said, I had plenty of good intentions to hunker down for the day, keep warm and keep working.

Then, my friend, Jen called and invited me to coffee. Well, that sounded like fun. (I took her some shampoo)

Then my son called and he and Sugarwings wanted to go out to lunch. How could I turn down dining with a fairy baby????

Well, after that, I came home to work, and of course, the phone rang. Sharon was asking if I’d meet her at the gym. Well, I’d gone out for breakfast and lunch, I thought maybe I could use some treadmill time.

I thought I was done gallivanting for the day, but the phone rang again.

Angie called and wanted to go out for a glass of wine at the Eldridge, a beautiful Civil War era hotel, downtown Lawrence.

We have a great time together and laugh our selves silly, so I had to go!! ( I took her some shampoo too)

She is ready to start dating, and somehow, I doubt she’ll have trouble finding a guy- look at her! I need to hang out with her now while I can, as soon as men in this town hear she is ready to date, she will never have time to see me.

If the men in my family are any example, guys get a little goofy and dreamy when she walks in a room.

My husband and sons both sigh after saying her name and talk about her all evening after she has been to visit us. (I wish I had a better photo to show you) Plus she is so sweet and kind hearted, she doesn’t realize she is beautiful.

So, not one bit of work got done yesterday. I am trying to make up for it today, Sunday is the 20th, the deadline for our swap cards to be in. I need to be ready to put these covers on and get the books into the mail. I hope it works out, the deadline is a Sunday and then Monday is MLK Day and no mail. Looks like Tuesday at the earliest is when we can put our books together. But we should wait till the afternoon mail on Tuesday…. well, maybe I do have a few more days to get my covers done!

Just in case, I am NOT answering the phone today. I am staying put at my desk!

The recipe packs are rolling in, it has been exciting. Most go to Beth’s house, but a couple are coming here. This one is from the other Karla, sugarbear. Such pretty wrappings, it was like a box full of sherbet.

And look what she sent along, a pink puppy and a fairy doll for my Sugarwings!!! There is a surprise for Beth and I in there too, but I am waiting for her so we can open them together.

(isn’t that rose tag yummy?? Or as Sugarwings says instead, Nummy)

Did I show you the back of Sissy’s recipe yet? A ballerina rose!

I just checked and I am at 5392 comments right now, and by the way THIS is my 250th post!!

Remember, the person who happens to be comment #5558 (my birthday) gets a special surprise. (I don’t know what yet…)

And every comment you leave gets entered into my monthly giveaway. Details Here.

Box full of Fun

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, paintings, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 16, 2008

Beth and I had a great afternoon working on covers yesterday for our Swap. We really got a lot done, it is fun to work together on them, she is always full of great advice, when I hold up a piece and say "what is this missing???"

I had a little scrap of my favorite pink flocked paper and used it on this one, with a hand painted cupcake and golden flourishes.

The tassel on the bottom of the card is one that Twinkle removed from a pillow for me. She is good at things like that.

This is some great, old red flocked wallpaper. I added a watercolor painting of a rose wreath to it and think it needs some sparkly stuff somewhere too. But I think Beth has laid claim to this one as the cover for her copy of the book, and she likes it as is. If she wants more on it, she will be sure to let me know!

I thought that this old wallpaper was wonderful. It needed a chocolate cupcake added to it.

This one, I did with Sissy in mind, and then she emailed me that it was one of her favorites!

I’ve used a copy of an old French post card that I painted fairy wings onto. She loves fairies as much as I do. Probably more, if that is possible.

This one features a German die cut of a rose basket.

This is the gaudiest of them all! Beth had this great paint, that is two toned, gold and pink- it shimmers and changes depending upon the light. I went a bit wild with it, swirls and leaves all over this cover!

It might be a bit much…

Here is the backside of some of mine.

And Beth’s backside. Well, that doesn’t sound right, does it? She probably doesn’t want her backside plastered all over the web.

Beth was so sweet, to keep the packages of recipe pages that are arriving for the swap all wrapped up so I can open them and have fun too.

These were in some of the bags- presents from Ele and Tammi.

Thanks! I love them! (I don’t have a photo of what is in Tammi’s little brown tissue package, but it is pretty. )

What a nice surprise!

Here is a list of all the bloggers in our swap, if you’d like to visit them. There is lots of talent in that group! Also, some of the cards coming in from non-bloggers seem to be from a talented bunch. I’ll be showing them here and on our Flickr Site.

http://www.123lavenderlollipoplane.blogspot.com/

bethleintz.typepad.com

http://shessewpretty.typepad.com/

http://raisedincotton.typepad.com/raised_in_cotton/

http://catieanscorner.blogspot.com/

fromthepines.blogspot.com

http://paisleydragonfly.wordpress.com/

http://pinkpomegranate.typepad.com

http://www.abitofpinkheaven.blogspot.com

http://www.prettypetalsboutique.blogspot.com

http://heatherbullard.typepad.com/heather_bullard_collectio/

http://jennifer-acharminglife.blogspot.com/

http://www.scrappyjessi.blogspot.com

http://thejoyof.blogspot.com/

http://bluemuf.blogspot.com/

http://creativechaos.typepad.com/creative_chaos/

http://madrekarin.blogspot.com

http://sugarbeardesigns.blogspot.com

karlascottage.typepad.com

http://countrychintz.blogspot.com

http://adelinecountrycottage.blogspot.com

http://webersworld.blogsome.com

http://ahappymiscellany.typepad.com/a_happy_miscellany/

http://room206-liisamannery.blogspot.com/

lollysnestegg.blogspot.com

http://simplysage.blogspot.com

http://theroseroomnz.blogspot.com/

http://rhondisrosecoloredglasses.blogspot.com/

http://dreamcreateinspire.blogspot.com

http//:gypsymermaidlife.blogspot.com

http://www.simplymein.typepad.com

http://shabbyinthecity.blogspot.com

Boxes_and_ducks_004 Look what Beth made for my fairy grand baby! Isn’t it beautiful??

The colors are perfect in her room, and it is soft and cozy.

I am borrowing it to cover up with when she isn’t here visiting.

The cute sweater Sugarwings has on was a gift

from my other sis, Bobbie Sue. Boxes_and_ducks_008

Yesterday was a

funBeth Day,

today was a fun

Sugarwings Day.

We played in her

room a while. Boxes_and_ducks_009_2

Then, we sat in the

bathroom in the

dark and

played with her

light up ducky. Boxes_and_ducks_022

It is snowy and cold here, so we built a fire.

Our box of starter logs was empty

and we decided to

have fun with the box.

It was a great place to play hide and seek with a friend. Boxes_and_ducks_019

Or to sit on while performing a concert. Boxes_and_ducks_030

Or to wrestle in.

We also sat close together and put it over all three

of our heads and told stories.

Green Eggs and Ham is a good story to tell

when you have a dog that can be the fox and

you are actually in a box. Too bad we didn’t

have a goat or a boat.

Tomorrow will be back to work, no Beth or

Sugarwings to play with.

Maybe I’ll get that Christmas tree down…..

Waste not want not, and some belated resolutions

Etsy Goodies, fairies, jewelry, paintings, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 15, 2008

I can’t let anything go to waste! This recipe page was too cute to not re-use some how, and the swap book will already have a copy of it inside, so I turned it into a Fairy picture to hang on a wall.

After taking advantage of the big sale at the UPS store on copies (29cents, not 19, but still good!) I had copies of my fairy painting done.

I used an exacto knife to cut around the hand painted roses and the wallpaper hearts over the recipe, and made a slit to slide in the portrait that was cut to fit.

Then, I made a new banner, with the word "Fairy" cut out of and old fairy tale book and added a ruffle and a sheer organza ribbon to hang it from.

It is now listed on Etsy, but I wonder if I should have kept it and hung it in my studio? I do have a thing for that fairy tale wallpaper I used and have to get over the miser in me who wants to keep my greedy paws on every scrap! SOLD

I also changed one of my book covers yesterday. I had to add this German foil crown that I got in the mail from Speckled Egg. I ordered a bunch of pretty things from her, some brass heart charms, die cuts, more crowns.

One of my belated New Years resolutions is to use more hand painted elements in my paper collage work. Here are the backs of the covers I have done so far. I am finishing the backs of all of them, I do think that is important. If it is pretty wallpaper, I am leaving it, but if it s more simple, I am adding some flourishes.

I painted a few lockets too.

Some I am going to tie to the recipe covers.

The rest, I am using for other projects like this button jar. SOLD

I just listed it on Etsy too.

I thought I had more of the heart lockets, but I could only find a handful to paint. I am trying to be productive and work on what is in FRONT of me (another resolution!) instead of spending all my time hunting around in my stashes for something I think I just Have To Have.

Another resolution I made, just this morning (yes, very belated) is to only use my fabric scissors for fabric. No paper, I want to keep them sharp.

And along those lines, I will not use my regular scissors for cardboard or WIRE. Only for paper. That might be the hardest to keep.

I also resolve to take down my Christmas Tree before Valentines Day. Or at least I sure hope to. I am beginning to avoid my own home and just hide out in the studio to avoid all the dusty, holiday decor. Of course, there are Xmas trees out there too, but I am used to that room being a mess.

This last cover that I made yesterday is a bit different. My friend, Jen, who is in the swap too, came over. We were going to work on the project, but her time was shorter than she planned, so we ate chocolate cake, had coffee and hung out.

I dropped my piece of cake on the floor and broke a favorite plate. But I do that sort of thing a lot, being a klutz. The thing is, I always feel like no one will believe that I didn’t actually eat the whole cake, or the last piece of lasagna or what ever, that I really dropped it. That sounds like such an excuse- like something I’d make up to cover up finishing off the whole thing myself. (I was glad to have a witness!)

Anyway, she did have time to go through my stuff and pick out what she wanted me to put on her cover. I hope she likes it.

Well, now I am off to Beth’s, we are going to work on covers for the swap today, then I am going to do my dreaded shoe shopping while I am in the big city.

Oh- guess what!! Lucky, Lucky me- I won the contest from Remember my Childhood

and won a hand sewn skirt for Sugarwings!! Here is a photo of one of the skirts from her website.

I told her that I’d be happy with any skirt that had pink flowers on it and she could chose one and surprise me with it.

Thanks, Clarice for hosting this giveaway! The fairy grand baby and I will have a dress up tea party and she will wear her new skirt and her pink wings from Carol, and I will of course take tons of photos of her, because I can’t help myself.

Aren’t digital cameras great? You can take all the photos you want, plus you don’t have to have the camera right up to your eye, you can still be a part of what is going on.

Ok, I’d better pack my glue and my sparkly things, I need to go make pretties with Beth! This will be a great day!