parties – Page 9 – Karla's Cottage

Short cuts and tips on blinging up a birdhouse

Etsy Goodies, give away, holiday decor, how-to projects, parties, swaps, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / February 25, 2008

Beth and I are having a party. A self swapping, self linking "What do you LOVE about your Birdie’s home?" party. Details are HERE. And we hope you can all join us and show off your own birdhouses. Either something you have made by hand, or just a favorite of yours on display in your home or gardens.

I’ll be giving one of my own away today, if you leave a comment on this post, and will give a 2nd away the day of our party, Thursday March 27th.

And if you’d like to make one, and could use some tips, here are a few things I learned while decking out a few birdhouses.

First thing I noticed, was that my hands look awful in these photos. Oh well, as grandma, I am getting used to things like that. Wrinkling up old skin, knobby knuckles, saggy neck. Back to birdhouses, and away from old lady skin issues (which I could go on forever about, and you really don’t want to hear).

I’ve bought houses in an assortment of sizes and shapes. Some from the craft departments of Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby and Michaels in unfinished wood or paper mache, some already painted and with cool shapes in the garden department at Hobby Lobby.

All are smaller, some mini, none made for outdoors, they are for decorative purposes only.

The prices have ranged from 67 cents to about $5 at the most.

A minor buffing up with a sanding block will take off any rough edges.

And I discovered that the homes were much easier to decoupage onto if you don’t have to worry about crevices and corners and edges.

So, I base coated all the cracks, and up under the eaves, the perching post, and the inside of the hole as well as any other spots that looked like it would be hard to cover in papers.

No reason to paint the entire piece, since most of it will be covered up.

Although, for this one, I purposely painted all of it, just so there would be some contrast for the photos I was taking of the steps.

And notice that I didn’t sand the edges first? I wanted you to see the rough wood, it shows up better on the blue house, look inside the hole at the jagged edges. A quick little twist of the sanding block inside that will knock those bits down pretty smooth.

Here is a short cut I came up with for making the houses go more quickly. I have been making a LOT of houses, so speedy tips help me a lot.

I used glitter paint to draw lines across old sheet music. You could also use plain glue or glitter glue.

I sprinkled glitter over the lines.

Next, I used a paint brush to spread the rows of glitter out a bit flatter.

With decorative scissors, I cut narrow strips of sheet music, just perfectly sized for gluing onto the edges of the roof or around the base of a bird house.

For this house, I decided to glitter the painted roof. I used the same glitter paint that I used on the sheet music.

It was brushed on after the paint was dry, and then I sprinkled more glitter over it while it was still wet.

After all my prep work was done, I gathered up my supplies. I looked around to find colors and tidbits I wanted to work with.

Go ahead and pull out extras, you are never sure how much you will end up using, but having a pile to chose from, already selected, and in the chosen palette not only saves time, but is an inspiration for the project.

You will need:

a sanding block (or sand paper)

an exacto knife (and be generous with yourself- replace the blades as needed!! It really does make a difference to have a fresh blade)

glue (I always store mine upside down so it flows better)

a Popsicle stick or something similar to burnish paper down with

scissors

goodies to add to the house

Here is a point where you might want to make a pattern. I just go ahead and use my wallpaper. I fit it to one side of the wood at a time, bending and creasing to show myself where to snip it with the scissors.

You can also trim it with your exacto knife.

If you are making more than one birdhouse of the same design, or have a limited amount of old paper and don’t want to waste any, it might be a good idea to make a pattern this way and then using the pattern to cut out your chosen papers.

I poke the perching post through the paper, then trim around it with the exacto knife.

After the paper is cut, I liberally add glue to the house. Attach the paper, and using my exacto knife, poke a hole into the area where I think the house’s hole should be.

I then saw with the exacto knife to the edge, and around the hole to cut it out.

Wooden Popsicle sticks or coffee stirrers are great for rubbing the paper down.

Once the glue is dry, I lightly sand the edges with the sanding block again, being careful to not tear the paper.

Now we get to the fun part. Decorate it! Baubles and buttons and doodads and glitter and stripes of coordinating papers. Old jewelry, ribbons, lace, what ever makes your bird joyous.

I have a few more houses to foof myself. One is actually a little Swiss music/jewelry box that I got for a quarter at a garage sale. But of course, this decopauge technique will work on all sort of different things, not just bird houses.

Another suggestion I have to offer is, that whether you use scrap booking paper, vintage papers, or whatever you decide, the papers do seem to look better with a smaller print, or an over all pattern. The smaller the house you cover, the smaller the print you should try to use.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. My husband is leaving to go back East and I am going to be lonely. So any question is welcome, I could use the company!

I hope you’ll make a few and join the party on the 27th! Feel free to add this button to your blog so people will know you are participating.

I’ll be adding bling kits to my Etsy shop and fill them with fun bits and pieces to work with if you need supplies to make a house.

And remember, I will give away one of my creations to someone who comments on this posting, plus another to someone who leaves a comment on our party day.

And if you would like to be in my St Pats tag swap, you have until March 5th to send me two tags and I will send out two tags to you from another swapper. Email or comment to ask for details.

One thing I love about blogland, is all the holiday decor! I haven’t gotten into decorating for every holiday like this since my boys were toddlers! Most years, I totally ignore St. Pats or Easter as far as setting out pretties or making things for them.

I haven’t seen much about St Pats in blogworld, we have all jumped ahead to Easter. But Easter seems early this year, so I can see why.

Speaking of Easter, My pink bunny watercolor is finished and hanging in my studio, although hopefully not for long, I have it in my Etsy shop now. This is an original watercolor I have added to a vintage wallpaper base, then dooded up with some of my favorite pretties.

Have fun blinging out that birdhouse!

Edit, added on:

Here are some highlights of the $10 Cottage Collage Birdhouse Bling Kits I added to Etsy today. More coming, no two are alike and they take a while to photograph and list!!

Keep in mind that these kits would be pretty used in many projects, not just a birdhouse, and that there is more in a kit than is needed to finish a small house.

Gifts Galore, The Antique Store, and whining no more

Food and Drink, give away, I do tend to run on, don't I?, Moving to DC, parties, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 10, 2008

What a lovely day I had!!

Carol and Beth came over to play. Carol worked on a cute book she was making out of envelopes- great idea. I want to try one too. Beth and I worked on our Sweet Treats and Roses Swap recipe book covers.

But first, we had a light lunch. I made a salad and some prime rib stew (well maybe not so light, huh?) with ruby gold potatoes and a crusty bread from the bakery downtown that uses a wood fired oven.

I took all 3 leaves out of the dining table so it would be cozy, and moved around some of my centerpiece stuff left over from Christmas to give it a new look (Christmas is still not put away yet around here, will it ever be????)

Just in time for the lunch, I received this cute as a button, wire cloche from Crystal as a giveaway prize from her blog!! I always say that every thing looks more important under glass, but now have to revise that to under a "cloche"- it doesn’t have to be a glass one! I also used the wallpaper book that Beth made for me as part of the display, it would dress up any vignette.

So, I have my gift of a new cloche and this great book Beth for made at Christmas. I am feeling pretty special to have gotten such nice presents. Then– Beth and Carol both brought stuff for me!!!!

Beth picked up this candelabra at our favorite auction house last night. (I used to raise peacocks, and love anything with a peafowl on it- but never had a pink one before)

She thinks it is gaudy and apparently everyone else did too, she says no one bid on it. She knew it would be just gaudy enough for me to love.

Carol brought this royal bar of soap (available on her blog, if you want some- it is hand made and smells wonderful!) and these rhinestone embellished white gloves.

Just my style!

But that is not all! Our swap members are sending in the pages of recipes for the Sweet Treats books and a couple of them came with GIFTS for Beth and I. Kathy senrt us the tags and the "Beauty" collage, is from Sarah and it came with a pretty painted card.

The other side of it says:

Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old (Kafka)

I think I will keep this as my motto for my 5oth year celebration that is beginning now and going till my birthday in May. It is quite appropriate for me.

Remember, there is a gift for comment # 5,558 (my birthday, May 5, 1958) I also have my one year blog anniversary coming up on Valentines Day. I will need to do something special for that, too. I get so many things, I want to share the good fortune. I love presents, don’t you????

Blog giveaways are so generous. Here is one you should check into if, you have a little person in your life. A choice of hand made pants or a skirt. I think my little Sugarwings would be cute as pie in either! (by the way, thanks for all your input on her photos, #4 was the big winner)

You can enter at Clarice’s and while you are there, wish her pretty young lady a happy birthday. You can also enter a great giveaway at KJ’s, she is throwing herself a surprise 50th birthday party and has presents for us!

Carol, Beth, and I did a lot of chatting, but we did manage to get some work done too. I made a few covers for the swap recipe books. (take a peek at the recipes in so far, here on our flickr page)

This one is from a copy of a De Longpre rose.

And this one is from some floral vintage wallpaper that Beth brought.

Why is it so much more fun to use someone else’s supplies than your own??

This one is on some old shelf liner paper I found in my garage last night when I was searching for supplies to make a magic wand ( pictures later!).

I also prepped a lot of covers, with some vintage wallpapers, ready to embellish and foof up.

Nice, cheerful Valentine reds on these.

Pretty pinks and chocolates here.

And some romantic neutrals with a touch of roses (the lavender one will be going to my pal who shares my 5-5-58 birthday, Barb , who is found on Lavender Lollipop Lane.

Remember how I have been whining about all the shopping I have had to do to set up our apartment outside of DC?

Yesterday, I actually got to pop in to the local antique mall and take a deep breath of that glorious musty antique store aroma and it was heaven! I didn’t buy much, but a few little OLD doo dads sure made me happy after the time I had to put in at retail shops and discount stores and mattress outlets!

But- I think I owe all of you an apology. I did whine a LOT last week about having to shop so much.

With all of the real problems in the world, that isn’t such a big one, really, is it?? Poor me, I had to buy 2 brand new flat screen TVs, 3 rooms full of brand new furniture, and all new kitchen stuff. What a bitch I am!!! Sorry.

But I just like old, or hand made things, and it was hard to get excited about filling a place with new stuff, plus it had to be done so fast, it was a marathon of never ending discount stores, plus, I was sad about my husband and I having to be apart so much.

Oh no, here I go again, whining. Sorry. I know I am LUCKY and I do appreciate what I have. I hope I didn’t offend anyone by my weasly whines.

What do you do with the leftovers?????????

Etsy Goodies, fairies, holiday decor, parties

By Karla Nathan / December 2, 2007

Beth and I survived the sale! It was up and down and surprisingly we didn’t do very well during the day of the open house. Hundreds of people came through and all had nice things to say, but I think it was just too crowded and congested for shopping.(Here is a table full that Beth brought)

We had a lot of inventory, hand made or vintage.

And although, sales weren’t THAT bad, there sure seems to be a lot left over!!

See how cute this stuff that Beth made is? Why is it still here?

And I still have a treeful of ballerina fairies.

We had our theories on why the sales were so up and down. Friday was great. All of our regulars from the mailing list came. They always show up when we open and want to be first in line!

Saturday, the weather was terrible, plus there were so many activities going on around town.

On Sunday, the home tour was for 4 hours, with 7 homes to see and people were rushed. The ones who did stay and linger, bought some things. I ended up selling furniture on Sunday and my husband was sweet enough to load it up in one of the trucks from his collection (we have 3 for some reason) and follow the lady home to deliver a dresser.

I should have taken a photo of the packed room, and you’d see what I mean about it being too crowded to shop. We sold a lot during lulls when the room was bearable, but when hordes came through, we simply passed out treats and chatted as they filed through. who would have ever thought that having too many people at your sale was a bad thing?? A lot of women were asking what my hours were so they could come back again when they could shop more comfortably. But I doubt I I’ll be doing this again for a few months.

I’ll be listing a BUNCH of stuff on my Etsy shop tomorrow and at bargain prices too!

I can’t say the day wasn’t a success. People were so kind about my home and had so many nice things to say. And I got my house cleaned up! Every room all at the same time. Of course, it won’t be that way tomorrow……

I had people asking if they could hire me as a decorator. That was flattering.

Of course, all my stuff is from a garage sale or a dumpster or a flea market, I called it the recycled house. I take things no one else cares about and make them into something pretty.

My husband’s office was open for show today too. I didn’t decorate much up there, just some berry vines on the lights and above the windows.

And to me, this is one of the prettiest things I saw today, my little boy, Ryan.

I took tons of photos and will show more later if you are interested.

Plenty of blog-fodder for the "what do you love about your Holiday Home" party on the 12th!

And don’t forget about our monthly drawing!

I’m a couple days late, but things have been crazy around here. I picked a name from the comments left this month and it is:

Joy

What a fitting name to draw for a holiday prize!!

Joy, please send me your address and I’ll send a giftie to you up there in Canada.

All comments left are eligible for the drawing each month. Thanks to everyone who comes by to visit, I enjoy hearing from you all.

Oh, here are a few more wonderful things Beth brought, and she did sell out with these, I think. And what a cool display she brought for me to hang them on.

I think she’ll be listing some leftovers on Etsy too.

You know, the sale really was fine, and the home tour was fun, I didn’t mean to complain. I am simply so PROLIFIC in what I produce, that sometimes I feel like I am drowning in stuff. I still have a studio full after the sale. But there was just so durn much to start with!!

I was giving stuff to friends who came by after the event to drink a glass of wine and tell me about the other homes they saw on the tour. My last few shoppers were getting extras thrown into their bags for free too. I just wanted it GONE at that point. I am ready to move on and make more stuff, not just keep staring at the stuff I made last week.

I have an idea! Another giveaway. For my Party on the 12th, I will have special prizes. All comments that day will go into a drawing and I’ll use you guys to dump my excess inventory on- ( I mean, I will give gifts to readers and participants that day)

The Stairway to Heaven

Etsy Goodies, hand painted signs, how to's, parties

By Karla Nathan / November 19, 2007

Natasha is throwing a prom! I guess it is Spring in Australia, and the weather here today was downright Springy too, about 74!! A perfect evening for a magical night at the prom.

I thought I’d start with proms through out my life.

Here is my sister, Bobbie Sue, posing before she leaves for her prom.

That’s me, Karkie Jo Downey, the one missing a shoe. Next to my sister, is my god-mother, Bootie, the sweetest woman on the planet.

My mother made all of the clothes for us girls. I remember thinking that Bobbie’s dress was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

And it doesn’t look like I have changed much over the years, at least in attitude.

That is my mom behind me, does it look like I wear her out? Poor woman.

For some reason, we seemed to think it was more scenic outdoors for the pictures. Oh, yes, the outside of a trailer park is always such a pretty place!

That is my 1st car next to me, a 1963 Chevy Impala.

My mother made this dress too. I wanted something other than the pastels and frothy things everyone else was wearing that year. I drew what I wanted and she made it from the sketch.

Maybe she should have told me it was a bit naked for my age? Everyone else at the prom that night was ruffly and I was slinky.

She made a little lace jacket for the dress, so that covered me up a bit! But the lace emblem on the front of the halter? That was peek-a-boo, the satin was cut out and the lace was over the hole.

But hey, when you are trailer trash and are going to Ride the Stairway to Heaven (everyone’s prom theme that year) with the cutest boy in the school, you need to be a little sleazy, huh?

Didn’t work. He was voted Prom King, and he spent most of the evening dancing with the little blond cheerleader who was voted Queen. My heart was broken. (Did I mention that he drove a green MG convertable and his eyes were the same color as the car?????)

While I was looking through old photos to find the prom pics, I noticed one thing about myself. I have always loved roses! This dress that I wore for my senior picture is something I would wear today! (well if I still had a waist, that is). And both prom dresses had a little lace rose on the front.

I recently bought this pink dream of a dress, and have it as part of my set up for the upcoming sale in my studio.

If I don’t sell it, I think it will go into Sugarwings dress up clothes for tea parties with Grandmama Karkie. I used to love wearing my sister’s old prom dresses when I was little. I think my fairy grand baby will have a good time with the dress up clothes I am accumulating for her.

Thanks for the prom party, Natasha! It was fun taking a stroll up the memory lane stairway to heaven.

In honor of the prom party, I listed this ball gown on Etsy today.

I worked outside a while today too.

With the weather in the 70s, I couldn’t stay indoors, even though I have a ton to do before my open house and sale.

I cut branches from some fir and pine trees in the woods and wired them to this arch and over the front door of the house. When I was done, I was a bit like Chevy Chase in one of my all time favorite movies, Christmas Vacation, sap sticking to my fingers, and, then me sticking to everything I touched.

Then, I spray painted this sled white and set it out on the porch to sell at the open house. I hope to get more signs painted and use this as a display for them. I will also just pound nails into the siding and hang them all over the house.

Did I mention that I used to be trailer trash? I think I might still have that in me, a bit!

To fill an old basket, I decided to sparkle up some dried hydrangeas.

It was easy to do, (well, except for the wind blowing them. I had to hold on while spraying, but I was already sticky from the sap anyway)

First, I sprayed the blooms with clear poly, and sprinkled on glitter, then sprayed again to keep it in place.

Speaking of the open house, I need to get back to work on it. And don’t forget the Blog party on the 12th- "What do you LOVE about your Holiday Home?"

And don’t forget Phyllis’s craft fair next week too. I plan on making things all day and showing them on the blog as I finish and offering them for sale.

Have fun checking out the proms!

A whole new Me

give away, holiday decor, parties, Silver Bella, Sugarwings, swaps

By Karla Nathan / November 16, 2007

I am so thrilled with my new little home here! Sadie Olive Designs (Sara) has done such a beautiful job of using my original paintings in her design and making the blog still feel like "me" but be cleaned up and professionally designed.

Did you see how she turned my rose painting vertical and made it look like antique wallpaper???? I LOVE vintage wallpaper!!!

And I have my Sugarwings picture, roses, sparkling old rhinestones jewelry, scalloped old paper— it is all my favorite things!!! I don’t think there can be enough exclamation points to describe how happy I am!!!!!!

Plus, the poor woman was so patient and kind. I don’t think I was an easy job for her…….

I almost hate to write on this, it is so new and clean and pretty. Its a bit sad to start using it.

Kind of the way I felt after cleaning house for the photo shoot yesterday and had the house all perfectly sparkling and TIDY. Then, I heard that my son and Sugarwings were coming over. Now, I love them and loved having them here, but I knew that the small window of time that my house was clean was over.

And I was right. She did her best to wreck the place. And is really good at that. Toys, toys everywhere. Till she was worn out and fell asleep watching the Jay Hawks in her Pop Pop’s arms.

Yep, it looks ‘normal’ again. A big, ugly portable crib with a garage sale sticker on it, puppy chew toys and baby toys all over. The dog’s water dish spilled, ahhh, home sweet home.

My photo shoot went well. Or at least I think it did. I’ll have to see the program to know how much babbling and stuttering I did. This is the hostess, Lori Carson.

And this sweet guy, Neil, the co-producer/cameraman has offered to make a dvd copy for me that I can post on my blog!

I hope to have it pod casted by the "What do you LOVE about your Holiday Home" party!

(unless of course, I really sounded like an idiot, which I tend to do when I get on TV or the radio. I am a born babbler)

I still don’t have all my Silver Bella goodies out and unpacked! But here is a special pretty from Carol. She and I did a side swap. Ithink I got the good end of the deal on this one!

Carol made this little snow princess from an old watch box. I have it on my bathroom shelf and use it to put my rhinestone pin into when I unclasp it from my jacket.

This princess banner that is on Sugarwing’s doll house in the fabulous button that Sara made for our upcoming party, is also from Silver Bella.

I bought the banner at vendor night. It was done by Kathy and it is so cute and just perfect for the doll house!!

Speaking of parties, Natasha is having a PROM!!! I’m going.

And one more mystery to solve. A sweet and kind person, named Katherine, sent a goodie box to Sugarwings and I!! It included this pretty floral dish, old trims, ornaments, a cute ATC she made, a book for the baby, and this great doily.

I love it, but I don’t remember winning a giveaway. Isn’t that terrible? I know it isn’t either one of my holiday swaps. I enter every contest I see, they are always so generous and fun. But I don’t remember this one. And I don’t have a last name or a blog name with this gift so I can thank the person for the pretties.

Here is what I did with one of my Silver Bella projects. I hung the tussie mussie from a wall sconce.

I’ll be getting all the gifts, swaps, and purchases out soon, now that my photo shoot is done.

Although, I still have that sale to get ready for and it looks like I will have to clean my house all over again for the holiday tour! (I was smart and rolled up the newly washed rugs before someone could spill on them or twinkle could tinkle them up)

And the Party Goes ON!

flowers, give away, holiday decor, magazine pictures or articles, parties, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / September 26, 2007

I want to thank everyone who participated in the "Romantic Country- what do you LOVE about your home?" party!! And everyone who came to visit me and who party hopped around blogland to check in on the party locations too.

I have 2 winners for an issue of a magazine, one will go to a reader, the other to a blogger.

And they are:

Cindy and Paula Kay!!

Please contact me with your address and I’ll get the magazines into the mail (as soon as the editor sends me the bundle of copies, should be soon). Remember I said I would have a surprise for the winner who was a non-blogger? Here is a small autumn leaf watercolor I have done. Hope you like it, Paula!

I do think that this subject is dear to all of our hearts, we all love our homes. Would you like to have a "What do you LOVE about your Holiday Home?" party in December? I have another Romantic Country article due out about then—-more celebrating!!!

Don’t forget you can still enter the Sept. drawing for a giveaway choice of a Cottage Collage kit with vintage wallpaper, or a hand made item from one of my kits!

Today I had a real life party, here at the cottage. A few good friends came by for muffins and yogurt and coffee.

I made the muffins with applesauce instead of oils and added lots of healthy extras like walnuts, raisins, flax seed, whole wheat flour, etc. They really were good and gooey and moist. (and I had cream cheese icing on the side in case the muffins were too healthy)

We had 3 kinds, Carrot Cake, Chocolate Zucchini, and Blueberry-Cranberry. Wish I could throw a real life party to meet all of you!

But I will be seeing Silver Bellas soon in Omaha.

Remember when I told you that Monday was the Bloglandia Ball? Well, now I am telling you that is TODAY again. And this time I am right!

(I have more gowns posted on the earlier entry fomr two days ago)

You can visit the ball here. Please do, you’ll enjoy it!

Also, I will keep adding links to our What do You LOVE about your Home party for the rest of the day. There seems to still be a lot of interest in it and I’d hate to leave anyone out.

Thanks again for coming to see me and my friends!

What do you LOVE about your Home?? And a kitchen evolution.

antiques/junking, give away, Hand Painted Furniture, I do tend to run on, don't I?, magazine pictures or articles, parties, redos, Sugarwings, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / September 25, 2007

t Welcome to the Romantic Country Party! You are all invited to show or tell us what you LOVE about your home.

If you are a fellow blogger, leave a comment to tell me you have posted pictures or stories about what you LOVE about your own home. I will add links throughout the day Tuesday so we can all visit each of the party sites.

If you are a reader, please share stories of what you LOVE about your home in the comment section too. I will be drawing names of a blogger and of a blog-supporter for prizes to be given out on Wednesday.

What do I LOVE about my home?

It makes me smile to have an eclectic mix and a never ending, always changing menagerie of possessions. To find bargains at thrifts, garage sales, auctions, in dumpsters, places where I can spy a diamond in the rough.

This photo of my gazebo was in Victorian Country a few years ago and you can see from it, that I like to use pieces that go together, but that aren’t matching sets.

Right now, some rooms from my home are in Romantic Country along with a short article I have written.

Here is the kitchen scanned from the magazine.

I like to redecorate, but they have gone even further and completely renovated and given me a mirror image of my actual space! How fun is that?? Perfect for me, I love changes and with this one, I didn’t have to do a thing!!

To give you an idea of some of the changes my kitchen has been through, here are some older magazine shots.These have all been taken by Bill Mathews and styled by Gloria Gale for Harris Publications (Country Victorian and Country Almanac).

This one was taken by Diane Guthrie for a local magazine. She took this after we replaced the original farm house cabinets with new ones my son custom built for us.

I repainted a bit since then, this is the latest incarnation.

And from the other angle.

When we remodeled, I saved money by repainting my old fridge to match the cabinets, in the same paint and glaze I used on them (oil based french vanilla color with a mocha glaze)

One small addition to the kitchen was made this weekend, I found a toy stove/fridge for Sugarwings at a garage sale for $1. Now she can help me fix dinner.

If you are new to my blog, (as I know a lot of the party crowd is), you’ll see I tend to run on and on and my posts can be long winded.

I’m afraid this one will be a record breaker by the time I add all the party invitations to other blogs!

I look forward to visiting each and every one of the listed parties, and hope everyone else enjoys mingling and party hopping too.

I’ll check throughout the day and add links as I receive them. If you don’t see yourself listed, please email me and let me know I have missed you!

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR HOME?

PARTY LINKS:

My buddy Beth has already started and is showing some of her art as well as her great junk hunting loot.

Here is a taste of what she has to show. Also, she is my tech adviser, every time I have issues with my lack of computer skills. She is also great with adjectives and lists, so offered some advice on party invitations. Here are some she sent to me:

Take a gander at Beth’s beautiful home
Feast your eyes on Beth’s beautiful home
Ogle Beth’s beautiful home
Behold Beth’s beautiful home
Check out Beth’s beautiful home
Wander on over to Beth’s beautiful home
Follow the path to Beth’s beautiful home
Hop on over to Beth’s beautiful home

Actually, she meant for me to sub other names in, but I couldn’t resist posting it like this, it is cute!!

Jessica of Wild Rose Stamper, has a rosy room to show us and instructions for making a tussie mussie.

Yellow Rose Arbor has a gorgeous swag that she has made for her romantic bedroom, and scroll down to see all the yellow roses!

Becca always has beautiful things to show us and her party pictures are no exception!

Stephanie has a unique green mirror that makes me drool and turn green with envy.

Rachael from the other side of the world has gotten a jump start on us and is opening the champagne!

Katrina is hosting her party from her warm and wonderful kitchen.

Jennifer has some of the sweetest eye candy around! Look at this baby girl’s shadow box- wow!!!

There is a rosy glow in the sky over the party at Betty’s house.

Clarice is sharing Autumn Bliss with us at the Story Book Woods.

Jennifer‘s old painted cottage is on the cover of this issue of Romantic Country!

And Kari‘s artwork can be seen on page 70. This issue has the blogworld well represented!

Our Bejeweld friend is sipping hot cocoa on her new patio and is waiting for you to join her.

Sherri has her guest room done up in the prettiest pink ready for a grandbaby to come and stay over.

Something old, something new is on show at Corinna’s home.

All the way over in Sweden, Linnea-Maria is sharing what she loves about her home. Her blog is in Swedish, but she has left a comment on my blog in English to explain.

Kitty is throwing some light on the subject of what she loves in her home.

Joy has the welcome mat out for us.

Ginny has invited us over seas to England!

Jennifer has a montage to show us what she loves at her home.

While you are out globe hopping, drop in to visit Aukje.

And who doesn’t LOVE everything about Kim’s Daisy Cottage?

Julie has invited us to visit her too.

Jennalee is ready for guests at her lovely home.

Terri has a family heirloom to share, and if you scroll down, there is some home made bread that I am sure she’ll offer a slice of!

Rosie has a wonderful porch for us to sit and relax on.

Felicia has invited some cute little friends over to enjoy the party with us.

There are Super Heros to visit at Meg’s.

When you visit Louisa‘s party, make sure you scroll down to see her water color roses from a previous post too!

Isabella’s cozy cottage is somewhere you’ll want to linger for a while.

Susan’s home is all decked out in cheerful fall colors for her guests.

suzy has gorgeous pictures of her home ready to share. (this one was re-done later, it had not been a connecting link earlier, please go back to visit her, you’ll love her place!)

Karen has the air filled with the scent of pumpkin spice at her party.

I love Tami’s mantles too, and so will you.

Crystal has stories of what she loves about her old farmhouse. Scroll down to see some tiny little people who are showing off what they love about thier cute cottages too!

Cindy has a fantastic studio (wish mine was that tidy!) with a beautiful faux treatment on the walls.

Karla was one of my first blogging friends. She is always a wonderful person to visit with and she has invited us all over for espresso and home made bread. Check out the gorgeous blue of her walls while you are there.

Natasha has asked us all to come to Australia to see her romantic cottage, and to help her celebrate her 100th post, coming up very soon.

Debra is all decked out for Halloween at her place, and she is the master of that holiday (hence the "boo" in her blog title)

Phyllis has invited us over to enjoy the sunset and sit back in some cool old twig furniture.

Look what came in the mail yesterday from Phyllis- a section of old greeting cards and crafting papers. Thanks, buddy.

My good friend, Heather is making me just way too jealous with the photos of her house. I might not be able to be her friend anymore.

Pattie has been out thrifting and has new finds to show us.

Brenda asks us to join her in her vintage country kitchen.

Julia shows us what she loves about her home in a collage.

A fellow Silver Bella, Natalea, is offering us views of the lake outside and some lush and rich color and textures inside her home. Plus an invitatioin to play the "Name Game". I love to play those silly tag games, and have already done this one at the end of this posting, but my middle name is JO, so it was a short one!!

Catiean has the most amazing wall treatment, you have to see these!

http://violetladyathome.blogspot.com/ has her favorites on display for us.

I have another Silver Bella coming to the party- Jessi has her house decked out for the holidays!

Home is Where the Heart is among the sweet little rose buds at Barbara’s

Blanc and Daisy have invited us over to visit.

Who could resist dipping into the fairy dust over at The Glitter Fairy’s

Studio???

Cathy has a green thumb and a set of kitchen cabinets that are making me turn green with envy again. I swear, all these homes are just making me so jealous.

Another featured home in Romantic Country for this issue belongs to Dawn. This issue is filled with bloggers! (Her photo is on page 71, near Kari’s on page 70)

Bethany has a collage of pictures to show us, and make sure you look through her blog at some of her artwork! I love her sketches, here is one she did of my little sweety, Twinkle.

Mary Allison has given us a peek into "the Kingdom". I just want to steal that name for my studio now too!!!

Angelina has a piece from one of my favorite artists, Holly, on her site. As well as some of her favortie holiday decor.

Elizabeth is up at night dreaming about paint colors. ( I know what that is like! When the paint chip fairy comes to visit, you just give up and start looking through colors, YOU MUST REPAINT)

Michelle has some favorites highlighted in her home for us today.

With a name like Flea Market Queen, you know she’ll have good stuff to show us!

Our friend, Marie Elena has wonderful style and lots of talent that she has put to use remodeling her Chilean home.

June not only invited us to see what she loves about her home, but gives us a list of resources to help find what we need for decorating our own homes!

Stacy has invited us to see the magic in her home.

More globe trotting! Time to experiance autumn in Germany with Regina

Vintage Flair has some romantic and sentimental photos to share, and don’t miss the very last one, with the old wallpaper and trims. She has made a lovely display!

Becky has a beautiful home and I am crazy about the little green dresser she has as part of a table scape. Be sure to read both of her posts today, Blogspot only allows 5 pictures per post so she had to post twice. Stingy Blogspot!

Wanda is bidding a farewell to summer with photos of her swimming pool and lovely garden spots. Plus look at how dramatic the red wall is!

Lolly shares her therory on "more is more" which is mine too!

We have unique aquarium pets and one of my favorite sofas, ever at Vickie’s

Debbie has invited a collection of furry freinds to stay in her cozy room for her grandsons.

Cindy has taken a fantastic photo of her lavender room reflected in the mirror, you have to see it.

Kelley has hired a cherub to serve us crystals as party favors in her newly done dining room.

The lovely Ele is inviting us to her lovely dining room.

Melissa just found out about the party and will be posting some home pictures soon. In the meantime, you can click on "home" on her site to see some of what she loves.

You can see the love that goes into all details of Mary‘s life when you visit her place!

Sharon, another Silver Bella, has some of her pretty mosaic goods on display for us to see.

Mary is joining our party, and has such a warm and welcoming home!

Kim is moving and has shown us what she will be missing when she leaves this home, scroll down past the Sinister crafts to see it!

Jenn has a pretty pink kitchen to share

And The Queen has a lovely wreath on the door to welcome us.

Vanessa Valencia the Fanciest of Them All always has her place filled with fun, magic, and exciting happenings. Have you ever been to see her? If you go once, you’ll never want to leave her fanciful world.

Andie has a blue and white treat for us.

Lisa really does have a thing for roses, just like the title of her blog says!

Katie has whipped up some fall baking for us to snack on.

You’ll have to visit the whimsical delight that is at Cherry’s

Kristi has some lovely textiles in her kitchen.

Romantic Homes, the competitor of Romantic Country magazine (that inspired our party),, has featured this unbelievably beautiful house, not once, but twice! You have to visit Jennifer to see for yourself.

Andrea has not only shown us her own home, but a cute little red house for her birdie friends!

Everyone’s friend, Carole has joined in on the party and has some hula dancing entertainment for us and craft supplies out for us to make some pretty things with her!

the Contessa is inviting us to join her at the tea table she has all set up.

Heidi has gifts from fellow blogger friends to show us. Aren’t the gifts we get from all the generous people out there, so thoughtful???

Watch out, Amy’s decor could put a spell on you!

Barbara, my birthday twinner, has a hand stitched sentiment to share.

Any time you go to visit Jody you see all the love that goes into her life and her family.

Sara has a striking home in black and white you can’t miss.

Michelle has an old farm house that is a work in progress (as most farmhouses are, I know mine is!) That garden and porch are so inviting. After a long day of trying to list all these blogs and not mess up the links (only a couple needed tweaking!!) I’m ready to go and visit Michelle and relax on that wicker seat.

Jen has started a blog and today is her very first post, so this party is a bit of a house warming for her! Please drop in and welcome her to the blog community so she’ll see first hand what a friendly bunch she is joining!

Britt has things sparkling at her place!

Romance is in the air at this romantic cottage of Linda’s

Heather has invited us to visit her home and meet a dainty little witch.

Nature Girl finds joy in spending time in her gardens.

Leelee_and_cake_2

Thank you all so much for joining in this party today! I’ve had a wonderful time mingling, meeting new friends, and seeing the creative and loving touches you have added to your homes.

I think that this subject is a meaningful one for many of us and I have been asked to host more parties like this in the future. How about a "What do you LOVE about your Holiday Home?" Mid December?

Sugarwings and I are all partied out at this point and we need to call it a night!

THANKS!!!!!!!

Wednesday morning note- I think I went to bed too early, sorry I missed some of you! but hey, I am a Granny! I can’t stay up all night partying like I used to years ago. I am going to add the rest of the emails I got after I went off to my pillow at 11pm last night:

Lorraine‘s cottage is celebrating its new floors.

Fairies dance across the mantle at Gayla’s

Dana has some amazing flea market deals in her beautiful cottage

Shabby Chic treasure and pretty pastels at on view at Joy’s

And Cerris is one of my very favorite places to go on Etsy, her home is just as wonderful!!

You just have to go across the pond to see Mary!!!! You’ll be glad you visited

Erin has a thing for red and you will see why. Her cottage is such a cheerful place!

Come out into the yard and play at Jeanne’s

Sophie’s home is an absolutely can’t miss!

Check out the painted geraniums on the wall at seeb’s

Joy talks about her love of autumn and her ‘joy’ of preparing for the holidays.

Cindy is shabby-chic-a-riffic!! She is late getting to the party, but sometimes it is good to save some sweets for later, isn’t it?

Cheryl loves the beautiful, Canadian countryside where she lives.

Don’t we all love to visit Holly??

And Lidy has autumn decorating tips for us all.

The party is just getting started at Gayla’s

Kathee doesn’t have a blog but has posted home pictures on Photo Bucket for us.

More updates- a few days later- Dayami has been scouting out pretty white serving pieces to serve goodies by her pool!

A Fairy Grandbaby and a Grandma in Fairyland

antiques/junking, fairies, family, Food and Drink, give away, parties, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / August 19, 2007

A quick question for you- is anyone noticing a faster loading time since I learned that I am supposed to make my pictures smaller? Also, any loss of quality in the photos? thanks for letting me know

Sugarwings loved every second of her birthday party last night!

I think her favorite gift was the pink ball with sunflowers on it. And doesn’t it look so pretty with her birthday frock?

She enjoyed the party down to the very last crumb of her cake. I enjoyed the evening too, she was such a joy, so happy and fun and loving her party!

I started a new photo album today, to mark the beginning of my fairy grand baby’s 2nd year.

I found an album for 50 cents at a garage sale and redid the front of the cover with vintage wallpapers. The inside was doen in textured, flocked paper.

The original cover was brown cardboard with a car on the front, not exactly my style, but a good sized album at a very good price.

With a few added embellishments, it is now "me".

Right down to the "K" on the front. I cut that out of an envelope that came with the box of goodies I won from Natelea. This black and white wall paper is from Beth and if you want some- she is having a giveaway of a good pile of wallpaper!!

There is something about a brand new book, ready to fill with pictures. Kind of like picking out your school supplies in the fall and taking out that first crayon.

I wanted a special photo for the first page. My cousin emailed this B&W picture of our Grandma Downey at Fairyland Caverns.

I rubbed pastels onto it with my fingers, used a gold glitter gen pen to outline some areas, then make the entrance to Fairyland sparkle with glitters. It was then mounted onto pink glitter paper (you can’t have too much glitter in Fairyland!!) and is ready to add to my new scrapbook. But, first I have to get some fixative to spray it, or I’ll have a mess.

If you’d like an assortment of old papers and photos in a Cottage Collage Kit or a project made from one, if you are not a collage-er– – just leave a comment and you are entered into my August give away!

Mini Spa Day at Home for the New Mom

antiques/junking, Books, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, family, flowers, Food and Drink, give away, parties, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / July 20, 2007

What a nice day! We had a fun Mini Spa Day at home for my niece to celebrate her baby’s two week birthday, then I got to work in the studio, and now my husband is back from his business trip. And I was smart enough to make up extra Cordon Bleu for lunch today and don’t have to cook tonight!

I didn’t actually get to make things today, but I did bundle up some Aqua Themed Cottage Collage Kits for Etsy and got them listed ($14).

And I played with my new purchases from my estate sale shopping with Beth. This vintage wallpaper was being used as shelf paper in a cabinet in a basement, I pulled it out and got 3 large pieces for ONE DOLLAR!!

Velvet ribbons, rick rack, buttons, a sequins all came from the same basement. I added the green ribbon and the mother of pearl button, with a vintage flower to the top of the little jar full of sequins. That is about as creative as I got today, mostly it was unpacking, and packing and finding new homes for everything.

All of these little rhinestone earrings will make pretty snow flakes for Christmas projects and look at these tiny Button Crowns!!!!!!! Oh, I see a Silver Bella project in their future.

And this little clear button is a Scotty, but it is awful close to looking like a Dorky. I never find Dorkies!! The world is filled with Stupid Scotty dogs tho. Oh well, this is cute and like I said, almost a Dorky!

Twinks has claimed the feather pillows as her own. They were only $2 each, that is pretty cheap for a dog bed, but they sure are pretty. Beth http://bethleintz.typepad.com/ says they should go into a hammock. Well, I don’t have one, but it is a good idea.

And look at this rug- I have always wanted one of these. I paid a bit more than I usually spend when out shopping, but it sure is a lot less than buying a new rug at a "real" store or even buying an old one at an antique store. This one is 10′ x 6′ and was $75. Ooh, that makes me cringe to admit I spent that much.

There were 3 of these brass lady-stake things, I only bought 1, for $2. I should have got all three, but was spending like a fool already. Now why did I think that another $4 would break me??

I like it in the flower pot. I don’t know what it is really for, but she seems content in the rose moss.

I found a bunch of ric racs and ribbons for a total of $4.50, quite a few rhinestone buttons for $1, got this cute aqua colored card for only 50 cents, and the trash can was $1.50.

You can’t beat shopping in the basements and garages of estate sales! That is where the sellers put the stuff they think is junk and not worth much.

These leather covered booklet thingys are cute, the one on the right is actually a box, the left one is a note pad, and the middle is a funeral home booklet. All three were $4. I can see all sorts of possibilities with them.

The prettiest pretty of them all today, was Madison Catherine. She is 2 weeks old and seemed to be enjoying her party. We all got to hold her while her mom soaked in the tub.

I lit some candles for the new mom, got out scented lotions and tossed some pink rose petals into the jacuzzi.

I set up a special chair for Brooke to sit in for lunch, and tied up the back of it with a bundle of flowers I got in my first swap from Karin at http://www.creativechaos.typepad.com/

We ate salads with feta, cranberries and almonds, then had cordon bleu with spinach fettuccine and a side of broccoli. (the broccoli got mushy but the rest of the meal was good)

The new grandma brought a Tiramisu, who needs broccoli when you can have that?!! I picked a gladiola from the garden for Grandma Gladys who loved Brooke so much and would have loved to see her baby. She was with us in spirit today.

Brooke wore the crown I received in the tiara swap from Barb at http://www.123lavenderlollipoplane.blogspot.com/.

I have one more thing to list on Etsy, then I am going in to have a plate of leftover cordon bleu. I wish I had leftovers everyday, man I hate to cook dinner.

Please leave a comment if you want to enter the drawing for a Cottage Collage Kit!

Sister Swaps, Buddy Swaps, and some Freebies for you

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, family, flowers, Food and Drink, give away, how to's, paintings, parties, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / July 18, 2007

I have had the best day! I missed having time on my own in the studio in the last couple of weeks. Now, I loved the guests and I loved the trip and babysitting the fairy grand baby is a beautiful way to spend time, but man, I missed my studio!!

I worked all day (well, since noon at least, I had errands to run this morning) and my husband is out of town, if I want to, I can power up with a power bar and work all night too.

I am in the Art Doll Hat swap hosted by http://craftingbycandlelight.blogspot.com/ and have been making plans for that, but also, my sis and I decided to swap art doll hats, both using the same picture.

So, here is what I made for her. Sissy loves to collect, wear, hoarde, and buy tons of jewelry, so I decked out my doll in jewels.

She likes holographic papers too, so I used a gold holographic party hat for a base. The over skirt is my favorite scrap booking paper, a blue with roses. Over that is a bit torn off of an old curtain I found in a dumpster, I thought it tied in with the upper part of the dress in the picture.

I added some gold glitter to compliment the holographic base.

The crown/hat on the doll’s head is also scrapbook paper that is glittered up with a rhinestone button added. The button was given to me by my great aunt Caroline who just turned 99 this week.

I gave the doll some vintage flowers to hold and wrapped them up in ribbons to match her dress. I hope that Sissy likes the hat better than the Dorkies did. Twinks refused to wear it and Sparkle wore it grudgingly.

Here is the doll that Sissy made for me, look at that great skirt! And the magic wand!! I love it!!

Lets see, what else did I get done today? I made mailable art for Michelle Wards challenge this month. http://michelleward.typepad.com/how_cool_is_that/ I wasn’t going to participate this month, because it isn’t my style, but I saw envelopes I really liked at http://pennyrabbitart.typepad.com/penny_rabbit_art/2007/07/gpp-crusade-mai.html and thought I’d try the spray paint technique.

Here is the front, (and I bought pretty stamps to use too). Beth http://bethleintz.typepad.com/gathering_dust/2007/07/beginner-mail-a.html is also doing this challenge, and she is offering to give hers away. Part of the challenge is to actually use them in the mail.

So, if you want one (ask Beth for hers, she might still have some) or ask me. I’ll mail them to the first 4 people who ask for one. Who knows, maybe there will be a little something tucked inside them??? Also, leave a comment if you want to enter July’s drawing for a Cottage Collage Kit.

Speaking of Beth, she and I are doing a crafting day tomorrow in her new studio. We are also swapping bags of paper goods.

Trouble is, SHE HAS EVERYTHING. What do you trade to someone who has the best selection of craft goods on the planet???

A letter from the School for the Feebleminded written in 1931. But I wouldn’t be surprised if she already has one.

I also got two rolls of this textured, paint-able wallpaper border at Goodwill today for 99 cents each. I cut off a length with 3 medallions, glazed it in umber, and added roses to the middle oval. I included a couple single ovals too, she can add a picture, or who knows what, these are COOL for collage work!

Ipacked up some odds and ends of old papers for Beth and while I was at it, I made up more Cottage Collage Kits for Etsy. These four are all neutral colors.

I included some of the glazed wallpaper pieces, papers from 1913-1930, a millinery flower, old buttons, pictures, lace, quite a bit actually. I haven’t listed them yet, if you want one they are $14 plus shipping. Oh, I made up 3 aqua themed packs too. It is surprising how long and involved that process is.

Then, I set the table for Friday’s Mini Spa Day at Home for the new mom. Yes, I know I am early, but I won’t be using the table and setting it up is so fun.

People have mentioned to me that maybe the new mother shouldn’t soak in the tub. But, she and her mother are both RNs, so I am not worried about it, they know what is safe to do. I have an assortment of bath enhancers, she can decide for herself if she wants to use one or not, or just enjoy the jacuzzi as it is. I like to use the Vaseline Intensive Care Bath beads. I think it is pretty gentle, but I’ll leave it up to my guest. Thanks for caring about her and warning me.

Well, I need to pack up a bag of stuff to take to Beth’s to work on tomorrow. We are doing Silver Bella stuff!! Yay, Bellas!! Can’t wait.