Silver Bella – Page 3 – Karla's Cottage

Welcome to the Glitter Lounge!

By Karla Nathan / November 17, 2009

Carol, her niece, Shelly, and I hosted the Glitter Lounge again this year, and I was so happy to see so many Bellas join us! Do you ever throw a party and fret that no one will show up? Its a big fear of mine, to be sitting all alone with a mountain of cupcakes (well, having all the cupcakes to myself doesn't sound so bad, I could probably handle that part) and no one coming to celebrate with me.

Luckily, it wasn't a problem, I was happy as could be when Bellas started piling in! We had adjoining rooms this year, so could double the fun instead of squeezing everyone into one room.

My silver table cloth was a curtain from a garage sale, and the floral topper was a throw that fell apart. The velvet lining had ripped loose from it, so it made a perfect sheer topper over the metallic piece. The disco ball-look "vase" was a plastic bottle cover from a thrift shop that I filled with china roses (also from a thrift shop) then topped with a crown and a fairy ballerina.

The deep pink disco ball is from the garden section of Hobby Lobby at clearance time. Hopefully, the decor looked deluxe, but all of it was thrown together with pennies. My favorite way to decorate!

The best deal in town for tossable wine glasses was Hobby Lobby with their 40% off coupon. Much cheaper than the party stores or even Costco. Then, I found packs of mini disco ball key chains at the dollar store to add to the stems as souveniers.

It was so festive to see the table all set up and ready to pour pink champagne and sparkling pink cranberry juice for our Bella guests!

(I mixed my two pink drinks, that was a sweet combo!)

Miss Sugarwings helped me decorate cupcakes the night before. She held each in the palm of her hand while I piped on the icing from a bag. She was giggly and happy while doing it, and was so impressed with the icing bag, having never seen one before. She kept saying, "Its so full of squishy pretties!" And her father said that she was developing a vocabulary like mine.

It was also her job to help me with the pink sprinkles and edible glitter. Can you see how the cupcakes sparkle? The lighting was too soft for it to show up much, so I kept telling guests to go and look at their treats under a light before they ate them, so they could enjoy the glitter.

Because what good is glitter if you can't get the full enjoyment of it??

For a swap page that I did with the En Le Jardin girls, I drew a Glitter Lounge cartoon, then framed it for the table top.

My fears of having no one turn up were groundless, thank goodness! We had two rooms full of fun.

Its hard to know how many will come and who will show. I sent invites to people whose email addresses I had, and told them to bring friends and roomies along. Then it gets complicated, because we don't know until I checked in at 4pm where the party was going to be at 5pm! So, no one knows what rooms to come to.

I hope that no one who wanted to come, missed us.

Carol is the one to thank for the pink champagne, she treated us all! Of course, she has one of the most generous hearts around. And between her and Tiffany, the laughing never stops.

Of course, Suzanne is a pretty funny lady too. Did I mention that my cheeks were sore from smiling so much???

I was happy to finally get to meet Kana, with her sweet, Southern drawl too. Its great to put faces with the names in emails!

And my buddy Beth came up from Kansas City a day early for her Vendor Booth, just in time for the Glitter Lounge, and to stay up half the night listening to all of Shelly's funny stories.

When I made up inventory to pack for the Vendor Faire, I purposely made more than I could ever need for the event, so I would have a lot left to sell online. So, I'm off to get busy photographing and listing some goodies.

Then, I'll tell you all about wallpaper heaven and the lovely loot that overspent on indulged in there. I went a bit over the top…. But- I have the most BEAUTIFUL florals ever, and will be ironing and cutting and making up packs to list soon. Because no on in their right mind could ever need the amount of wallpaper I have! And its all too wonderful to not be used.

For now, I have some 8 packs of flocked paper in the Boutique. They are gorgeous for Holiday projects!

For now, I'll leave you with scenes from the Glitter Lounge. I'll have more Silver Bella highlights all week, until you are all Bell-ed out!

Punch drunk from lack of sleep, but full of Bella LOVE

Silver Bella

By Karla Nathan / November 15, 2009

I don't even know where to begin to describe how much fun I've had the last few days. My cheeks ache from smiling so much, my side hurts from laughing, and my voice is hoarse from talking non-stop. And I think that this photo kind of sums up the atmosphere of the week.

The gifts, swaps, treats, projects, leftovers from the Glitter Lounge, all just kind of accumulated on the table in my suite. Every time I came in the room, I'd deposit my pretties there, and by Sunday, it was so full that one more bit of candy or vintage paper could not have fit on it.

The gifts and goodies were astounding. Lori Oles created this lovely lady for me. She drove up from Arkansas to meet me in Kansas City for lunch, and shopping. Then we followed each other up to Omaha. We'd only met through our blogs, but had an instant connection.

The table top had a pink, blue and silver theme, and even though nothing was arranged, just plopped down onto the space on my way in and out of the room running from one fun "play date" to another, it all looked beautiful together.

The bird is from the Denise Sharp class I took, and the Day Dream journal is from the Rebecca Sower class. And see the sweet angel? She was a gift from another sweet angel, Lisa Kettle.

For Pam Garrison's class, I made a Sugarwings garland.

Right now, I'm EXHAUSTED. But happy. There was very little sleep to be had, and when I did get a chance to doze off, I was drowning in snot from a cold and up blowing my nose all night. So, please forgive me for not posting links to the people I am mentioning, I will try to add them after a good night's sleep.

Suzanne Duda was giving out little frozen Charlotte dolls, and mine came with a jar of pink M&Ms. My east coast pal, Coddy, brought an English tea towel to me, and the book is from the En Le Jardin group's swap.

One of my strategies at Silver Bella is to divide up my time between as many different people as I can, while still fitting in lots of visits with best buddies. See why I didn't get much sleep? There was lots of talking and laughing till all hours of the night, as well as intimate, heartfelt conversations full of tears and compassion.

So many wonderful women, so few hours to share!

My Little Sis, Robin, gave me the satin linen bag. Gorgeous!!!

The book mark was hand made by Jo Packham who gave a moving key note address. We all could have listened to her for HOURS and were sad that the speech was much too short. What a genuinely caring woman she is.

But I could say that about so many of the people there. The connections I made with this group were some that I will never forget and will always treasure. While I really enjoyed my classes and got a lot from my teachers (Anna Corba was spectacular, Pam Garrison is cute as a button, Rebecca Sower seems like such a gentle soul, and Denise Sharp has a eye for detail that is amazing!), to me the weekend was more about just being with like minded souls who "get it".

Sadly, there just isn't enough time to spend with them all. There were people I really wanted to chat with, and only got a few moments with here and there. And so many more that I never even got to meet.

My pal, Robin, made this for me, with a 1928 Omaha photo she found.

The Bellas in training are cute as can be, huh? I think that if I had any advice to give future Bellas, it would be to mingle. I try to sit with a different group at each class or at meals. I love my close friends and did get to sit with them too, but I reminded myself that the way I met them was sitting near them in previous classes. I didn't want to lose out on meeting new people, by only sitting with ones I knew. And this year, I met plenty of new friends that way.

Honestly, I think that is pretty good advice for every day life. Smile and say hi to someone new. Strike up a conversation with someone at work that you see in the halls but don't really know. Surf new blogs and stop to visit and comment. You never know who will be your next new buddy!

The chocolates are from Meleen, the tag is from Tiffany (don't feed her after midnight, she is like a Mogwai and will turn into a crazy Gremlin!), and I made the cone in Anna Corba's class.

I’m a Big Bella

Books, celebrations, Silver Bella

By Karla Nathan / November 13, 2009

I'm pre-posting this for you while I am up in Omaha at the big Bella bash.

Did I mention that I had a little sis? In my family, I'm the baby of the girls (funny that I say "baby" and "girls" about women in their 50s and 60s) but at Silver Bella this year, I've got a little sis.

Veteran Bellas are adopting newbies and helping them out, showing them around, and answering questions. My lil sis is Robin, who is my East Coast Buddy. When I go out to VA to stay at our apartment, Robin and I try to get together. So, I was happy to have her as my sis.

While shopping at Lucketts this summer, I found this book that was just perfect to alter for the occasion. It was old and beat up (just the way I like things!) and only a couple dollars, but filled with the sweetest, pastel sister pictures ever!

So, I cut it apart and reassembled it, adding glitter, flowers, and sparkle. Of course, since it was for Silver Bella, each girl got a tiara to wear. The book has lots of blank space, and empty pages simply decorated with a die cut robin or rose, so there is plenty of space for her to use it as an art journal or photo album.

Not only did I find the perfect book to make this, I also found the perfect wrapping paper! Old sheet music titled, "the Robin's Return".

This morning, I've been wrapping up all the gifts I've made to take along. For Marilyn, who is opening her home for me to come and shop in, I've packed a couple of my bottle brush trees.

Marilyn's business is actually called Hannah's Treasures, but in my mind, it will always be Wallpaper Heaven! She has thousands of rolls of vintage wallpaper and its overwhelmingly wonderful for an ephemera junkie like me.

More little trees are packaged up for roomies. Yes, it looks like a lot of roomies, and no, I'm not sleeping 8 to a room.

Jenn, Tiffany, Lori, and I made plans to go in a day early to go to Wallpaper Heaven. They are all roomies, and are letting me sofa surf that night since my reservation is for the next day.

For the rest of the weekend, I was supposed to be sharing with Heather Bullard, in a connecting room with Carol and Shelly. But, Heather had to cancel, she just didn't have time to come to Omaha. You should have seen me scrambling, trying to find a new room mate at the last minute! No luck, so I am paying full price instead of sharing a spot. Oh well, it worked out, since Sugarwings will stay with me one night when the family comes up to help me set up my Vendor Faire

And hopefully, Carol, Shelly, and I will have connecting rooms. I'm perfectly capable of staying on my own, but Silver Bella weekend is all about being social and I like the late night giggle fests that go on. So, a roomie is a good thing to have.

Carol, Shelly, and I are co-hosting the Glitter Lounge. Last year, we invited friends up to our room for a kick off toast to start the weekend on Thursday night. It was such fun, that we are making it a tradition and hosting again this year. I've got my disco balls all packed up and ready to go!

But now I need to get some cupcakes made to take too, I'd better get cookin.

Its just too hard to stop myself

antiques/junking, Books, Silver Bella, Travel

By Karla Nathan / November 11, 2009

While wrapping up some gifts to take to Silver Bella, I thought I'd gather up the gift for the November Giveaway. So many of you were hoping to win the bundles of vintage trim that I gave away earlier this month, that I thought I'd tie up a few more bits of it and offer that as the giveaway.

I'll be away for the weekend, and will be swamped when I return, so might not have time to answer your comments, but will enjoy reading them. And each one goes into the drawing for the prize.

The blog redo that Hope did for me, is so pretty and is exactly what I wanted. I'm loving the new look! So I wanted to thank her and bring a little gift to show her how much I appreciate her work. I look forward to seeing her again, its so good to reconnect with buddies at the event! The flocked wallpaper I glued onto the book is the same that she used for the side bars of my blog.

She keeps an art journal, and is a champion doodler. I thought maybe she'd enjoy an ephemera filled book with her name on it to fill up with her artistic ramblings.

Making a book for Hope got me fired up to make a few more…

Mary had given me a stack of old book covers, and I am finding them very compelling. Little books filled with old papers has been something I've been making for a couple years now, and it is even more fun with these book covers.

Each is filled with with a mismatched assortment of papers, plus some tags that I like to trail ribbons and doodads from.

The last few days have been a hodge podge of little projects, as well as running errands, packing up and over all getting ready to go.

There is still a LOT left to do. So why do I get so side tracked? I didn't need to make books. I should have been packing up my supplies instead. Or why did I make myself a brooch to wear on my coat? That's just how it goes around here. I can't help myself.

My Sissy gave me this cubic zirconia pendant, that looks like a crown, and I thought it would be great on one of my vintage medal ribbons with the "K" pendant that was a gift from Carol, last year at Silver Bella. With a tiny millinery rose added, of course!

My table is filled with an assortment of things that I decided I need to add to my booth, so I still have some price tags to make and packing to do. The truck is loaded and ready, but there are always odds and ends that get added at last minute.

I almost envy the people who ship their vendor goods… they at least have to limit themselves and not go crazy with inventory. I went crazy with mine.

Baby Bella

fairies, how to's, Silver Bella, Travel

By Karla Nathan / November 9, 2009

At Silver Bella vendor night, the theme will be Night Of 100 Aprons, or something along those lines. I know that I need an apron! So, I pulled this one from my Boutique and doctored a shirt to wear with it.

To make the shirt, I scanned a post card, and used the Picassa editing retouch tool to remove the "Happy Birthday" from the picture.

Then, I wrote in my blog title, and printed it onto printable fabric from the craft store.

When I cut it out, I left raw edges that will fray when I wash the shirt. I sewed it onto a long sleeve, J. Jill, tee shirt that used to be my favorite, until I dribbled coffee all over myself while wearing it.

To get the picture on the shirt just right, I wore it while doing the pinning. The tee shirt was stretchy and the cotton piece was not, so pinning it on while the shirt was stretched over my chest was the way to go.

After sewing it on, it looked a little puckery, but that is fine, because it leaves room to expand for boobs.

I'm looking forward to a comfy night in a tee shirt and jeans, last year was a much more dressed up theme, Prom Dresses.

Of course, I'll still be wearing a tiara! It wouldn't be Silver Bella without a chance to wear my crown.

This one is similar to my own tiara, but is one that I just finished, to take along to sell in my booth.

And what else do I have packed for the trip? A new outfit for Sugarwings. Yep, I'm bringing the fairy grand baby! Actually, her Daddy and my Handsome Husband are bringing her, they are coming up to help me set up my booth, and using the trip as an excuse to go and stay at our favorite Omaha hotel with the water park that Sugarwings loves to play at.

We have plans for breakfast on Saturday with Beth, since she is coming up to Omaha just for vendor night to sell her great stuff. I was afraid we'd be so busy I wouldn't even see her, so we made plans to meet up and enjoy the Embassy Suite's free breakfast together.

I splurged and got a new outfit for the fairy baby, since we have a breakfast date. Even though the frothy skirt and flocked butterfly shirt are from Old Navy, and not real costly, it was still sticker shock to me!! I buy all of her clothes at garage sales and Goodwill or get hand me downs from cute little Bethany.

But when I saw this pink concoction of froth, I had to have this skirt! She'll be an adorable Baby Bella. I think she'll need a crown too…

My goods are finished and all packed up. I've borrowed my brother-in-law's big ole truck again for the road to Omaha. We own three farm trucks ourselves, but not a single one with a topper. And a 3 hour drive in the Midwest in November can't be counted on to be rain or snow free. Luckily, my sweetie of an in-law is generous with his vehicle so I don't have to rent something.

Speaking of sweethearts,look what Stephanie

sent to me! Roses, roses, roses! Just out of the kindness of her heart. So, I will share with you. For my November Giveaway, I'll add a pretty millinery rose to the bundle of vintage trims. Thanks, Stephanie!!

I will be away from my computer till I return, but will do some pre-posting, so please check back. I'm sorry I won't be able to return comments, but will read them all when I get back, and each will count toward the millinery rose topped bundle of old trims!

Silver Bella Bound

antiques/junking, holiday decor, Silver Bella

By Karla Nathan / November 6, 2009

Since returning from our Florida adventure, I've been knee deep in Bella preparations. I've set up 3 tables, as a practice run to see how everything fits and what I need to bring. Since we have a SHORT set up time and I have a LOT of crap, I mean, beautiful and precious things, I needed to do a dry run.

One table is all jewelry and foofy stuff. One is all Christmas and hand made stuff and the third is supplies.

After setting up the displays, I tagged everything and started packing it all up in a way that would be easy to pull out and set up quickly. Well, at least that is the plan… I'm crossing my fingers that it works that way!

All lighting, table clothes, tools, tapes, extra tags, calculators and cords go in one container.

Last year, I made a lot of display mistakes that I think I might have corrected for this year. But who knows. I'm crossing my toes as well as my fingers that all goes well.

For 2008, I'd stocked too many flower packs in one small area. Now, I have less, and have them divided into two containers, easier to shop through.

I'm also bringing a lot more supply type things, like the big 4" x 8" shipping tags that I like to use myself. I have cases of them, so might as well put some out. They are a great size to work with.

And do you remember the vintage glitter that my friend gave to me? I reproduced the label of the can and added some of the glitter to jars with the "old" labels. I had more than I'd ever use. And they make such a cute display on this spice rack that I got from the Good will and painted white.

So, 2 tables are packed and one to go. I'm getting close! Now, I'll have a few days to enjoy gathering up supplies for the workshops, and gifts for friends. I'm meeting a bunch of people a day early, and then going to Wallpaper Heaven again!! Can't wait.

But I've got to run now to make it to the PO before it closes. I'll announce the winners of Aunt Caroline's trim bundles next post. Your comments can still count on this one too.

Safe and Sound (plus a bedtime story and some aprons)

antiques/junking, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, Silver Bella, Sugarwings, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage

By Karla Nathan / July 22, 2009

Thank you all, for your concern for Twinkle! I could tell you all could feel the pain of losing a helpless little pet and the hopeless dread that goes along with it. I appreciate all your big-hearted comments! While she was missing, I was so worried. Sparkle and I put on a bucket of bug spray and hunted through the 7 acres of trees on our property, in fear that Twink's collar had snagged on a branch, and she had been cold and alone in the woods overnight. I drove up and down the streets, dreading a stain in the road that would mean she had been hit by a car. All the worst case scenarios were running through my brain.

Thankfully, my little Dorkie is safe and sound, and is now being pampered and cuddled (plus watched like a hawk!).

Twinkle has decided that Sugarwing's new bed must certainly be meant for her, not the fairy grand baby. The mattress I made for it is thick and soft and fluffy, and since it is a miniature bed, it is low to the ground. Even chubby little Sparkle sneaks up onto it, even though it has been years since she has been able to jump on the sofa or our bed by herself.

Sugarwings calls it her "Princess Nest" because of one of her favorite stories that I tell her at bedtime. The story is about a sleepy fairy who is grumpy but will not go to sleep.

When I first showed you the bed in its before stage, I mentioned that I paid way too much for it at an auction, but I guess what I meant was I spent too much in Auction Thinking Dollars. Have you ever noticed that price is relative to where you are shopping? If I'd seen this miniature antique 4 poster bed at a nice antique store, I'd have thought it was the world's biggest bargain at $70. At an auction, I felt like I over paid!

(It does have finials for the tops of the posts, but they are so narrow and pointy, I thought they might be dangerous, so left them off. I'll probably add knobs to the tops of the posts later)

And my other redo project? This $35 hutch from the Shabby Chic garage sale came out great! It has so much space in it, I don't even have it full yet.

Notice the beautiful, blooming ball in front of it? That was a gift from my pal, Kim. I won it on her giveaway!

I'll show more photos of the hutch, and the rest of the studio from yesterday's craft day on Friday when I join in on what looks like an interesting party. Karen is hosting the event and asks us to show our creative areas.

Its been a long time since I threw a blog party myself, I should think about it, they are so much fun to go to. I look forward to seeing this one!

Maybe an apron party? Aprons are the theme for Silver Bella this year and that has got me thinking about them.

The theme got me looking around at aprons in a new way. So did the swap Heather and Stephenie hosted this spring.

So, I've been foofing up some aprons with millinery, ribbons and jewels. Some are listed in the Boutique, along with some other new items. (The sale for my Etsy shop has morphed into a new version, prices are marked down in the shop itself. Thank you to everyone who shopped with me and scooped up some half price deals!)

Oh, and here is the updated photo for the JULY GARAGE SALE GIVEAWAY PRIZE PACK.

I'm finding lots of tidbits to add to this month's giveaway at garage sales! Isn't that English bone china little plate pretty? (it was only a nickle)

At craft day, I tried to make Sugarwings paper dolls, but the hair color looks more red than blonde when I printed the doll onto cardstock. I need to do some tweaking…

I'll leave you with the bed time story Imade up to tell the baby when she doesn't think it really is bedtime. And also with my thanks once again for all of your kind messages about Twinkle!

edit- sorry, I have to delete the story, working in Word, then copying the text to typepad caused problems with some readers being able to open the posts.

An ABC of crafting- Aprons, Bellas, and Changes

Miss Frenchie's, Silver Bella, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / April 14, 2009

Are you going to be a Bella this year?? I wouldn't miss it! The atmosphere created by all those creative types gathered together and sharing ideas, gossip, giggles, as well as glue and glitter is quite something. The timing makes it good kick off to the Christmas holiday season, I come home wanting to spread sparkles and cheer everywhere I go.

Silverbella is more than just classes, it is an Event, with a capital E. If you want to go, check it out here:

http://www.paperbellastudio.com/pages/silverbella.htm

Another fun thing I am trying to plan is a get away to DC with not one, but two batches of friends all in the same week. A group of Lawrence, KS buddies wants to join me there for a Girl's Getaway, during the week, and then when the weekend comes, I hope to meet up with Blog Buddies in Leesburg for shopping.

Heather and Stephanie,who hosted the apron swap I am in, are going to meet me there, as well as some local Virginia area pals. I'm hoping Beth will go too. Last time I was there, I found this wooden hanger for her collection and brought it back as a souvenir. The rest of the pile of goodies is what I pulled together to use to make the apron I did for Zita as my part of the swap.

But does anything ever go as planned? Very little of my pile of supplies made it into the finished product. I took the bag of laces and ribbons and flowers with me to Beth'sthe other day for a couple hours of escapism into craft time, which I really needed. Seems like some projects just need a 2nd person's opinion, and some days, you just need the outlet of a friend to talk to while you work.

I'd been struggling with this one, nothing I was doing was working, and one vintage apron actually fell apart on me, after I tried bleaching, dying, and aging it. But, having Beth around to bounce ideas off of, and to hand me things from her studio to try on it, really helped. She even provided this apron to use, as well as the image of the little girl. She downloaded it from Vintage Workshop and printed it on cloth. I'd done the same thing with a rose picture, but it somehow just wasn't quite right.

Sometimes, the plans just don't work. I've learned to be flexible, do my best to rearrange, make changes, and then do what Tim Gunn always says, "Make it work".

The pieces I had picked out to use for Zita, really were things I thought she'd like, so I used them as the gift wrap for the finished apron.

And I was even able to use the first apron that I thought was ruined, as a liner, no, I guess for fabrics, you'd say, lining, huh?

Its on its way to Canada now, I hope she enjoys it! I barely got it done by the deadline. Some how, I am not keeping up with my life as well as I should. I did have Sugarwings all week, and am trying to get ready for Miss Frenchie's, plus we just had Easter, and I took a week's vacation. Well, any one of those things could explain why I am so behind on everything.

Tomorrow, I go and help Debbie and Carol set up decorations and mark booth spaces for the show, and I need to pack a few straggles up that I don't have tagged and ready yet. But instead of tagging and packing, I have been doing something more fun. I'm making thank you gifts for the two hostesses of the swap.

Its always good to have an excuse to make things! And some how those tags will get on that stuff, and everything will get thrown into the big red, redneck truck I drive. So, I made this last night while I watched "House" instead of making price tags.

For this, I even got my watercolors out. I want to make a gift for Beth too, she was a major factor in me getting that apron done at all.

Ah, it feels good to just sit and make something that I really enjoy. But for now, I'd better get those price tags made. I have a feeling that my fairy godmother isn't going to show up and do it for me. I'll have to create the other two paintings that I have in mind later.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

family, holiday decor, Silver Bella, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / November 25, 2008

Is your turkey thawed and ready? I have my 22 pounder resting in its roaster, rubbed and seasoned, in the fridge so all I need to do is pop him in the oven on Thursday morning. I'm quite happy about that, because I am often the type who realizes at the last minute that my bird is still frosty and not going to be ready for dinner on time!

These birds are courtesy of Deb at Curious Sofa. Doesn't this display put you in the holdiay mood? Of course everything about her store is perfect down to the smallest detail, and I love her style.

Umm, apparently I am not the only one who she impresses! Look at this, it is one of her walls of fame, highlighting magazine articles her shop has appeared in.

Its pretty exciting to be part of a show that she is partnering on. And guess who else has been added to the sale roster?? Wow, this is pretty cool- Elizabeth Maxon. Yep. For real. (by the way, Deb has photos of Elizabeth's fairy tale wedding on her blog, you really really need to see these!)

Heck, I don't even know yet what I am bringing to the gala. I should be thinking about it….

Instead, I worked on these today. This is a tree topper for the Festival of Trees, a fund raiser for a local charity. My friend is donating a tree from her business, and a group of us made ornaments for it today. We also made tussie mussies to match, 12 of them will be filled with coupons for a free meal from her store, one per month.

Is anyone interested in a tutorial on making these tree toppers? I really liked doing it, although it took me longer than it should to figure it out. Now that I know how, I want to make more! If you'd like me to share a how to, let me know.

Beth joined us today while we made tree decorations and helped me figure out the process for the star burst tree topper. I think we probably could have gone to the Martha Stewart site and got directions there, she seems to have a how to for anything you'd ever dream of making. But, it was kind of fun to figure it out on our own.

Beth has been complaining lately about being a faithful commenter and NEVER winning a drawing! Funny, Cammi won two in a row, and I didn't even realize it until she told me. Anyway, ~~to shut her up~~ , I mean make her feel better, I gave Beth a bonus prize, this little pear watercolor. We usually have tidbits of stuff for each other when we get together. I had snippets from all my new wallpapers for her, and this painting, she had boxful of German rose patterned dishes from an auction and a batch of crisp and buttery, homemade cookies from her mom for me. (I'm eating a gingersnap right now!)

Well, I am at the end of my Silver Bella trip photos! All I have left are the ones of Natasha, Heather and I at my house and at Curious Sofa before they flew back home.

After Bella-ing all weekend, then being blown away by the Land of Never Ending Wallpaper, we had a quiet night by the bonfire when we got back to my house.

Oops, Typepad is about to reject me and freeze up my screen again!

I'll try to leave you with a few pictures from our trip to Curious Sofa, and hopefully won't get cut off. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving from Sugarwings and I!

The Land of never ending wallpaper

Silver Bella

By Karla Nathan / November 23, 2008

Amazing! That is the only word for Marilyn's home. Her entire downstairs is wall to wall wallpaper. And it is the pretty stuff, too! All old, all lovely! She had some masterpieces, it was like a museum, but without all the boring stuff.

After Silver Bella, we drove an hour east of Omaha, and took Andrea with us. We shopped longer than we planned, since it was so hard to get away, we could have gawked all day long! But then, we had to hurry back to Omaha and get Andrea to the airport, getting lost a few times, but getting her to her flight. Heather and Natsha came back to my house.

Imagine the way my little wallpaper lovin' heart started to thump when Heather told me she had an invitation to visit Hannah's Treasures in Iowa while we were up at Omaha for Silver Bella!

Marilyn (who named her business after her daughter, Hannah) sent invitations to bellas who have been customers of hers and I glommed on to Heather's invite and brought myself along with her to shop! (Of course, I was the driver, that helped!)

This is Marilyn, pictured with the scrappy little Aussie chick, Natasha. Look behind them!!! And yes, that is another room full of rolls, beyond the room they are standing in. Plus another room to the side.

It was overwhelming. She had over 1200 rolls on display, and says there are storage buildings full outside!

Everyone bought quite a few, but each of us picked one really special roll to have from the more expensive pile. Natasha chose this, over the top, elegant, beautiful roll. We were all a bit dumbstruck while shopping, it was almost too much. Did I say, "AMAZING"? Hog Heaven is another good way to describe it.

Marilyn had some special prices on "background" styles, like this one that I thought looked very pinky-Christmassy.

As a matter of fact, I have already used it on a hollowed out book that I am making into a holiday scene ala Teresa Mcfayden's Christmas Pageant class last week.

My husband rarely looks at my blog, unless there are fairy grand baby photos, so I guess it is safe to say that I bought 20 rolls…..

Many of the rolls are in this border pattern, but all different colors and styles of roses.

I bought this blue, rosy confection as my special choice, not because it was my absolute fave, but because Rachel Ashwell had also purchased the same roll!

Wouldn't you have picked it too??

Here is the info for the sale that Deb, Carol, Gwen, Beth and I are having. I have a feeling I'll be mentioning it a few more times between then and now!