Sugarwings – Page 10 – Karla's Cottage

An Arabella Cinderella Farewell Teaparty

cottage, Dew Drop, family, Food and Drink, parties, Sugarwings, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / August 31, 2015

We've had a nice, long visit with our tiniest fairy girl.

But now, she is headed East to be with her momma. We've squeezed in lots of snuggles and hugs before it was time for her to leave.

Sugarwings thought it would be a good idea to throw her a going away party, so we planned a tea to send her off with a toast.

Usually, Sugarwings helps set the table with me, but this was scheduled for right after school to combine after school snacktime with the festivities. I had the table set and waiting when they got home, to save time. If we delay after school treats too long, they interfere with dinner appetites.

But of course, this girl had to do some rearranging to improve my set up.

Dewdrop had been admiring some vintage dresses that I had hanging in the studio, and I kept promising her that she could wear them, but we never seemed to get around to it.

It dawned on me, that if I didn't pull those dresses down and let her try them on, they might not fit her when she came back again in a few weeks, those little ones do not stay little forever.

A vintage gown was chosen for Sugarwings too, but she preferred one of her own princess dresses. Both girls wanted to wear some of the jewelry I had out in the studio and chose some sparkling necklaces to try on. Dewdrop went with a floral hat from the studio too.

When the bigger girls got off the school bus from Jr. and Sr. high schools, they were good sports and joined in to toast our little sweetie. Can you tell by the look on her face that she appreciated our efforts and loved her party? That is one happy, kiddo.

We have recently discovered how delicious basil flowers are. I have always picked them off to make the basil plants last longer, and sometimes fill a vase with the blooming stems. Dewdrop likes to pick them out of the vase on the dining room table to eat during dinner, so I sprinkled some over our heart shaped watermelon slices for the party (made with a cookie cutter).

We also served blackberries and cupcakes along with the tea. All the dishes are mismatched and mostly from garage sales, and when set out on a floral table cloth, they feel special. Not so special that I get upset when one breaks. We had a creamer casualty, but it had only cost a quarter, so that didn't matter much. I want the grand fairies to enjoy nice things, had be used to handling them, not be afraid to use the pretty pieces.

We are all going to miss our silly, funny, little goofball and will be looking forward to planning a return party for her when it is time for her to come back.

Happiest Birthday, Sugarwings!

celebrations, Dew Drop, family, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / August 29, 2015

August is full of fun around here. Sugarwings' birthday (with multiple parties), the Hippy Chick's birthday, our anniversary, plus trying to fit in a few more fun things before school starts up.

Sugarwings' mommy always throws a special bash for her girl. This year's theme was Mystery. The cupcakes each had something flavorful tucked inside and you didn't know which you were getting. I can highly praise over the ones with peanut butter cups hidden away in the center.

There was a question mark pinata filled with goodies too.

And the kids had a scavenger hunt, following a treasure map to find the hidden presents.

It was all pretty cute to watch.

The world’s happiest dog

Dew Drop, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, kitties, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / August 23, 2015

For one thing, yorkies are usually just plain happy. I started calling mine 'dorkies' because they are often such silly, little, joyful dorks.

Twinkle adores her buddy, Sugarwings, who she grew up with (both are now nine years old). Especially when the water hose comes out. Those two can spray the hose together to no end. (glad we have well water!)

I was watching them the other night as they played outside as the sun was setting, Sugarwings was in charge of the hose, Honey helped her a bit, the other dogs and Dewdrop stayed out of reach of the water. But Twinks? As always, she was voraciously chasing droplets and attacking the spray. If her girl got side tracked and sat the hose down, that dog would go and get her. Trying to tempt her back into playing. She would run towards Sugarwings, then back to the hose, over and over, till her buddy picked it up and sprayed her with it again.

Dewdrop was happier with the dry kitties.

Or snuggling with her Pop Pop.

Twinkle never let Sugarwings get too far away from her, because she always wants to be in on the action. And while "Joy" is the fairy girl's middle name, it could just as easily have been "Action".

This is our idea of a perfect evening.

Can it get any better than this? Girls, bikes, garden hoses, with pups to play with as kittens watch… add in a cool evening with a bright sunset and, yes, that is perfection.

Celebrating

celebrations, Dew Drop, dogs, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / August 20, 2015

It's been fun around here lately. Lot's of Summer's End celebrating, getting ready for Back To School, plus Sugarwing's birthday. The grand fairies made cupcakes and we loaded up the family and spent a day at the pool for one party for her.

And when we got home, I had bed time snacks set up party style for the littles, using the fancy wine goblets for sparkling juice, and yogurt parfaits served in pretty glasses, along with light up, spinning party favors.

(The spinners were on clearance for a dollar at Michaels, and the rest of the set up was just stuff from the cabinets. You don't have to spend a fortune at the party store to make a table look special for kids. They appreciate using the fancy dancy garage sale china and goblets.)

We made a trip to KC's Legoland, too. The girls had wanted to go for a long time, but I've never been tempted. The lines to get in are always practically around the block and never seem to move. Since it was a birthday, I figured I could stand putting up with a crowd, but I was happy to find that the place was near empty! Most kids were probably back in school, I guess. Anyway, we lucked out, and it was such a cute, little place.

Crown Center has so many fun things for kids. One is an ice skating rink. But in the summer, its just a slab floor, unless you have an imagination.

In the mind of these two, they were gliding across the ice, and I think they were getting lots of applause in those little heads, too, because there were plenty of curtsies.

Of course, any activity is best if you have a skirt that can swirl around you.

They always have a good time playing by the fountains too.

I take that as an opportunity for photos. There is something about being near water that gives them both a pensive, thoughtful look.

And I'm always happy to have an excuse to take pics of my little pretties.

After Crown Center, they played with Honey in the gazebo.

Seriously, what could be more fun than digging in the rocks and playing in the water with a puppy while wearing a swirly dress? If I was a kid, that is where I'd be.

A visit to see Snow White and the dinosaurs, just a regular day with the Nathans

Dew Drop, dogs, family, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / August 3, 2015

We are all infatuated with Honey. Playing with her has been our favorite activity.

We have had to tear ourselves away to do other things. Last week, we visited the Prairie Fire Natural History Museum to see the dinos.

There is an interactive screen where you can build your own dinosaur. Or dragon. That confused me… Dragons at the museum? You find a fossil in the wild, and work through what you think the live animal would have looked like, guessing coloring and skin textures.

Wait a minute, dragon fossils? Yes, that confuses me a little.

We didn't realize that the creatures you built showed up on the screen in the lobby. We were enjoying the giant TV screen with animals projected over the video feed from the room, and didn't know the two things were connected.

We were just having fun taking our pictures with the dinos.

And pretending they were coming for us.

Then we noticed that the dragons and other monsters had names. And some of the names matched the ones we had made ourselves.

Fun, huh? And totally free. We played with these and hung out in the lobby for an hour or so before we bought tickets for a session in the children's discovery room.

Where I had another surprise. Tea party stuff? At a natural history museum? Dewdrop was thrilled. Of course, there were tons of other things too, animals to look at, rocks and crystals to examine, things to look at under microscopes, a fossil scavenger hunt in the bricks of the balcony, and much more.

But I really didn't get the whole section of different style tea services. Maybe it was supposed to be about different cultures?

While in the neighborhood, we stopped by and visited Snow White.

At last year's Halloween party at Lions Gate Club, one of the coworkers was dressed as Snow White. She not only looked the part, she was so kind and sweet to Dewdrop, and spent so much time with her, that this little girl still talks about her on a regular basis. Snow is her favorite princess and none of the Disneyworld princesses quite measured up.

So, we polished some apples and wrapped them up pretty with nice notes, and filled a basket for Dewdrop to take to her. Before going in, I told her that Snow White probably wouldn't have her party dress on, she'd be wearing work clothes.

And Dewdrop got very shy when seeing her buddy again. She was tongue tied, and star struck. But she did get brave enough to give her a hug and as we left, called out, "I love you, Snow White!"

Yep, a very nice day.

A magical day in Topeka. Yep, Topeka.

family, flowers, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / July 14, 2015

Last week, Sugarwings and I made a trip to Gage Park in Topeka. We've often gone to the zoo and the Discovery Center, but this was our first stop at the gardens.

Many times, we have ridden the train around the park, and I always say, "I'd like to go walk across that pretty bridge someday," but till now, we have never taken the time. We usually hang at the zoo, playground, or carousel, and since I don't go there without grand fairies, I stick to things they prefer. But this time, I figured Sugarwings was old enough to do some exploring with me.

She can now walk by a fountain, without having to be pulled out of it. At least on a most days….

And she was happy to take a detour through the rose gardens on our way to the Discovery Center. I don't think she was just humoring me, it seemed like she enjoyed the flowers as much as I did.

Of course, the bridge was an attraction for her too.

And the pond is so pretty. But the best part was watching a school of tiny, black fish as they twisted and turned in the water, they almost seemed to be trying to spell something out for us. And I swear, at one point, they all joined in to form a heart shape as they swam by.

Anywhere that I go with this girl is a magical place.

Through her eyes and imagination, I see all the possibilities of magic being real in a public park in Topeka, Kansas. We could have been over the rainbow and it wouldn't have been any more special than it was right here in the midwest on an ordinary, overcast Tuesday.

You can find magic anywhere if you keep your eyes open. Not only were the fishies making heart shapes for us, I came across a mossy heart in the cracks of the pavement too.

We looked around, took photos, talked about flowers, watched the fish. It was a simple kind of entertainment, aren't those often the best?

She offered to take my picture too.

And, like usual, my eyes were closed in each one.

We did some of our regular kid activities too. She rode the merry go round a few times ($1 a ride, no lines, no crowds), we played in the black light room at the Discovery Zone a couple of hours, until my eyes were crossed, and we had lunch at the zoo.

After years of riding by the pretty, little, stone bridge, I was so glad that we stopped and explored the park. It was such a small thing, such an easy thing to do, but such a big adventure for the two of us.

ps- here are some newbies to my Boutique. And if you are here for the studio tour, you can find it here.

A quiet 4th of July

cottage, family, flowers, Garden, kitties, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / July 8, 2015

We had quite a nice holiday weekend. Not at all typical for us, no parties, no people, no fireworks, no trips.

The weekend started on Friday with a performance at Theatre Lawrence, from the workshop Sugarwings had attended there.

It was very impressive to see how the teachers could corral all of these little ones and get them to understand the workings of being in a play, learning lines, songs, and choreography in just one week. And it is great for the kids to have a chance to be on the fancy stage.

Sugarwings is very serious up on stage, but does sneak looks up to where family is sitting, to make sure we are watching her. And at one point, she broke out in an impromptu, improvised tap routine that had nothing to do with the show.

Maybe tap lessons should be the next class she takes…

Her favorite part seemed to be the way her sparkling cape could swirl with some twirling in the lobby.

The rest of the weekend was pretty laid back. My husband and I did some hiking at the lake each morning, then spent the rest of the days doing yard work around the cottage.

Now, my husband isn't exactly a yard work kind of guy. At least as far as flower beds go. He is more of a chainsaw type, but when I mentioned that my rose bushes had become so overgrown that they weren't blooming the way they should and were more like thorn bushes than flowers, he was right there with a chain to wrap around them and pull them out with the John Deere Gator.

The roses were planted in bad places, that seemed fine when the plants were little. One was by the patio of the studio, and three were along the side walk to the front door. As they grew, they needed major trimming to stop their thorns from snagging unsuspecting people walking by.

I've not got a lot of experience with roses, but it seems to me, that the more you trim them, the woodier they become, and the less they bloom. These were turning into giant thorn trees with woody trunks, not green bushes with flowers. So, out they went, and the one by the studio was replaced with a hydrangea instead.

For the sidewalk area, I purchased 2 azaleas and a topiary. But the topiary wouldn't work, because there is a bedrock of gravel under the bed, and we couldn't dig through it. The base of the topiary was just too large, but the smaller pots of azaleas were just fine. So, the tree is in a temporary basket for now, and I'll set it in a pot when I find one later (it's time for some good 75% off sales at the greenhouses!)

We also dug out mulch and added a row of gravel along the foundation, due to some termite issues we are having. My husband got to fill his Gator with gravel and use the dump truck function to fill the trench he'd dug.

We also worked in the veggie garden, and had to pull some vines down from the walls. A vine covered cottage is a beautiful thing, if you don't care about termites and damage to your siding. If I could let them go, I sure would. Especially since they just start climbing on their own, it looks so charming and natural. But, nope, they had to be ripped away.

Lots of hard work got accomplished, and we had a good time doing it. I really can't remember the last time the two of us were on our own, and hung out together all weekend. We tend to have a lot of separate interests and many other people that take our attention from each other. This was nice.

I hope your weekend was a memorable one too. I thought I'd work in the studio and add some things to the Boutique, but didn't get around to it til Monday.

And I didn't mind at all.

Here are a few things that I listed.

A bounty of blossoms

bird song art event, flowers, Food and Drink, parties, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / June 26, 2015

If Beth and I look slightly delirious with joy, it is because we most certainly were. And Sugarwings was here to capture the moment.

We had a very good reason to be soooooo happy. Our pal, Carol had posted a photo years ago of some beautiful, gorgeous, dreamy, scrumptious, silk flowers and it was one of those pictures that stayed with me. Then, for some crazy reason, but lucky for me, she posted that she was selling them all! In one big, giant lump of unbelievable beauty.

Beth messaged me when she saw it, and I had a little stab of jealousy, but then was happy for my friend. Then, she said she was waffling and I asked it if would help to split it.

Yep! She shared the bounty! And I contacted Carol before the treasures were scooped up and we missed out.

Carol lives just down the road, and dropped it in the mail box, by Priority, that afternoon. The next day, Beth and Sugarwings were here for craft day and the box arrived. Perfect flowers and perfect timing!

See why we squealed??? This is new, old stock. Never used. Here is how Carol described them on her blog. And she also says she has more goods to sell in the next couple months, so if you are wanting some very special things, keep an eye out for what she'll be offering!!

Over the Summer, I’m going to be offering for sale a select few of my very special and very vintage stash of goods.

To start will be my collection of Vintage Millinery Flowers and Trims that I’ve kept tucked away for several years. This amazing old store stock, is from the Emery, Bird, Thayer Department Store of Kansas City, Missouri. Handmade of vintage fabrics, ribbons and some velvets including many flat appliqués and trims in gorgeous muted shades of color. A few still have the original EBT sale tags. There are over 100 pieces to this collection, some range from very delicate petite to large size flowers and trims. If you’re a collector or crafter of vintage millinery, you know how rare it is to find a grouping of embellishments such as these.

There was bag after bag after bag of these beauties in our box of delights. Plus some cool trims. They were easy to share, too. We opened one bag at a time, and between the, "Oh my gosh, look at this one" and the "Oooh"s and "Oh my goodness"es, we managed to take turns picking out what we wanted, one piece at a time, till the piles were gone.

Then, we found a bag that had slipped off the table and landed on the floor, and the squealing resumed.

Sugarwings took a thousand or so photos, which took her away from her own work, but she was having fun watching the old ladies be silly.

She wasn't allowed to touch our blooms. She was deep into her own Project Runway style creations and had a tad of paint and glitter on her hands.

Earlier, we'd hosted a Birthday Luncheon for Beth and Angie, with Sugarwings as my co-hostess. She decorated all the cupcakes, and set the table using her favorite trick. Here is what she does-

Make an a-okay sign with both hands.

Notice that the left hand looks like a "b"

The right hand looks like a "d"

The "b" stands for bread plate and goes to the left, the "d" stands for drink and goes to the right.

That is a quick way for a kid to learn about where things go at a table setting, and she enjoys doing it so much, she makes the a-okay sign each time she sets the items down, even though, she already knows where to put them.

The day was so much fun. And while I am supposed to be getting caught up after Birdsong, and trying to put the studio and garage back to normal, while also selling leftover kits (first offered to sponsors and past attendees, soon to the rest of our friends), it was nice to have a day just to laugh. All day long. And that is what we did.

Sugarwings was glad I didn't have the studio back to normal yet. I still had the big tables up, her small ones weren't back out yet, and the larger ones were still covered in paper.

Instead of doing a project on the table, she made the paper covered table her actual piece. It was a fashion themed day for her, and she had previously drawn dozens of gowns in chalk on the patio, side walks and breezeway floors, for us to take a walk through her "fashion museum".

Then, the table cover became a full length ball gown, covered in red glitter and embellished with sparkling tape.

Afterwards, she cut it out, and we hung it up in the studio. I love to see her creativity run amok. She was into this for hours.

My project for craft day was working on Lesa's kit. I'd already made one of them, and someone gave me their kit to finish, and I was happy to do it, I love these little birds. And again, perfect timing for the flowers to arrive, just when I needed them to make this special birdie, extra, extra special!

Thank you for parting with the blossoms, Carol, and thank you, Beth for sharing with me.

All of Lesa's kits are sold now. I have a couple of Lori's and I made quite a few extras of my own. I'll be marketing them as soon as all the Birdsong Peeps have had a chance to get first pick at them. So please do check back if you are interested in one. I'll also have some posts about Birdsong coming up soon.

Mulberry season

bird song art event, cottage, Dew Drop, family, Food and Drink, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / June 5, 2015

It's mulberry season here at the cottage. Which means that Sugarwings spends hours up on a ladder snacking away, and filling bowls up, just to spill onto the ground and start over again.

With dozens upon dozens of mulberry trees (which is how the Fairy Berry Trail got its name), there are plenty to go around, so if a few spill, no one worries about it. The chickens are actually pretty happy about that when it happens.

Dewdrop has a ladder of her own, but prefers being down on the ground.

Especially if there is anything soft around to cuddle. I'm always surprised at just how silky, soft a hen is. they are so nice to pet. Sadly, only a few of our ladies are friendly. The dozen we bought this spring still act like we are only entering the coop to murder them, not to feed, pet, or gather eggs. But there are still some older gals around who don't lay eggs anymore, but who are very sweet, little pets.

We had a nice family evening, watching Sugarwings drag her ladder from one tree to the next and eat her weight in berries. I popped her into the bath before dinner, and as soon as she was done eating her grilled shrimp, she was back outside and climbing up the steps again, this time way, out in the woods- with no bug spray on. I had to toss her right back in the tub again before she left with her day, so she wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night, itching and scratching from chigger bites. (if you use soap after being out in the woods, you wash away those pesky things)

We managed to get one bowl filled with enough mulberries (thanks to her daddy) to make a cobbler. I used about 6 stalks of rhubarb and a pint of strawberries in it too, since mulberries are a little bit bland.

This was far from bland, and I had a big dish full for breakfast this morning. Now, that is the way to start a day. I'd love to make more for my Birdsong peeps who are arriving soon, but I have a feeling, time is too short. I need to bake bread, cupcakes, and a few other treats yet. And this cobbler isn't going to last long enough to feed it to my guests this weekend, although I do know someone who is up to the task of picking enough to make another one.

A home for the fairies in the garden

Dew Drop, fairies, flowers, Garden, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / May 28, 2015

We've done a little yard work recently, and the yard is looking happy and bright. Roses are blooming, iris are straight, tall, and majestic, and the peonies put on a great show this spring. It's wonderful to have established gardens and perennials to depend on for color, even if maintenance is still a lot of work, in keeping things slightly tidy… very slightly…. At least there are hard working favorites popping up out of the ground all on their own with no effort from me.

I clean up the beds a bit, and fill the pots with annuals (this year a lot reseeded itself!), and we are set for springtime. This season, Sugarwings has wanted to help, so I gave her a tiny garden of her own to tend.

I had a low, wide, cement pot that was just the right size to turn into a fairy garden for my own little fairy to work in. I placed 4 mini plants in it, made a garden arch from wrapped wire and let her figure out the rest. We had this iron fairy, and she debated using it, because this garden was for REAL fairies not pretend ones. She ended up putting it on display there as a "statue" for the young fairies to look up to.

After it was planted, she watered it with a little teacup.

After getting to this point, she decided it needed a bit more. Like some signs, and a swing. So, she dutifully ate up a popsicle, to get a stick she could paint to turn into a swing. Her thoughts were that the youngest fairies would like a swing hung from the arbor more than just a plain old arch to look at.

So a pink, popsicle stick swing now hangs from the arch with blue ribbons. And the iron fairy statue has been removed to make space for a tea party area. I have a feeling that these are the first of many changes. This garden will probably be the focus of quite a few redesigns.

For the tea table, Sugarwings painted a large spool pink, and we glued a playdough can lid to it. The painted spool stools and table all have straws glued inside, so they can be poked into the ground to solve the problem of them toppling over and spilling the tea.

Dewdrop offered to blow bubbles for the fairies.