Sugarwings – Page 35 – Karla's Cottage

Before and after

Hand Painted Furniture, how-to projects, Sugarwings, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / July 25, 2009

Jen is having a make-over open house. Check out her blogfor a list of participating do-it-your-selfers, and join in yourself if you have a re-do you'd like to show.

I pulled out some photos of a redo I did a little while back for my sister-in-law, to show the Magic Of Paint. They bought an older home and didn't have anything left in the budget for remodeling, so we did what we could with paint, most of it from the surplus store where paint is only 5 bucks a gallon. The primer is the one thing I insisted that they get a specific brand, not just what was available at the surplus store.

I always look for BONDING primer. Make sure the label says, "will adhere to shiny surfaces". If you do that, and the wood is clean, you don't have to sand. Water based bonding primer (Gripper from Glidden is my current fave) is all the prep you'll need.

We primed and painted the top cabinets and all the interiors ivory and the bottoms and all the trim in the room a deep sage green. Then, we beat the cabinet fronts with tools, for dents and dings, to "distress" them.

After the paint was dry, we mixed Min wax poly/stain combo (in walnut) with a bit of turpentine to thin it, and brushed it on in small areas, then wiped it off (with cut up old tee shirts), for an aging effect.

Oh, and I added some little vines in green on a few of the top doors before the stain-

The walls were already white, so I used the ivory and green to do a faux finish on the walls of the room. The entire project, walls too, took 3 of us most of one day to do.

Leaving the cabinet doors on and painting right over the hinges makes the job a bit faster and unless you have drop dead gorgeous hardware, why not? We did remove the handles and reuse those because they weren't bad.

I think the total cost was about $15 for primer, $10 for paint, and $8 for the stain/poly mix to go over the top.

And here is a make over of another kind. This photo of Sugarwings on the Yellow Brick road was edited with Picassa. I lightened, brightened, and retouched it, then deepened the colors with saturation.

I wanted to make the picture look more like Oz than Kansas.

This is how it started out.

(its a picture I took right before the other one, not the same one, but the same conditions). Picassa is easy to use and this only took about 10 minutes to do. I'm not real good with the retouch button yet, but I'm figuring it out.

Now, I need to go and see some of the other redos that Jen has links to on her blog. I love before and afters!

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.

Scrapbook swapping ettiquette woes

antiques/junking, flowers, Sugarwings, swaps

By Karla Nathan / July 16, 2009

Wouldn't your heart skip a beat if you were invited for a craft day, and when you got there, this is what was waiting for you?

Mine sure did! When I saw this entry, I knew this was going to be a special place.

I was tempted to say, "The heck with crafting, where's my margarita?" and just plop down on the porch without even going into the studio.

But as good as the patio was— the inside was even better!

Laurie rents out her studio for the day, as well as teaches classes. It was a fun place to meet up, and gave our group a break from all having to drive to Lawrence to come to my place. All of them live in KC and Laurie's studio was more convenient for them.

Her home is chocked full of vintagey fun, and I had a hard time concentrating on what I wanted to work on, because I really wanted to explore and look at all the art and fun finds she had on display around the room.

Like this piece that I was really attracted to, even more so, when I saw that it said "Nathan & Co." on the top of the card.

Actually, it wasn't just the surroundings that kept me from getting to work. I'd brought photos from my trip to Jenn's event last May to add to the Flower Fairy Scrapbook that a group of us from there swapped pages on.

The book was gorgeous! So pretty that I was hesitant about using it. But- we all made our pages with the intent of adding photos, so I starting gluing. Plus, all the people at craft day assured me that they had been in swaps like this and swappers understand that the pages get altered a bit when you start adding your own stuff.

So, I got out the markers and pens and added journaling bits and swirls and doodads (according to Beth's last post, Journaling is the New Black). I snipped off bits of the ribbons that Kim tied to the beautiful cover she had made for it and used some of those inside on the pages to trim pictures. I also created pockets on some pages to add the pictures in, while saving the artist's original work and adding it to the top of the pocket, or on a tag to tie into the book later. I also took the liberty of re-distributing some butterflies and adding sparkle marker and details to them when I glued them back to the page around the photos.

Hopefully, I kept the intent of the artists intact and haven't offended anyone. I was so impressed with the care and skill that they all put into the book!

Was I wrong to add my own touches and drawings, and scoot some other artist's work aside and move it to make room for photos? I'm feeling a bit guilty…. What do you think?

I sincerely hope that I haven't offended the other artists and that they know how much I will treasure their work in this lovely book.

Mementos of a trip are important, and I will enjoy that book for a long time! I made up a little something for Sissy as a souvenir and thank you for her help on our trip to Florida to Aunt Caroline's funeral. She loves crows and witchy things, so when I saw this pink hat on a doll while we were shopping together, I knew exactly what I was going to do with it when I got home!

The hat got a foofing with some old flowers and tulle trim, then I glittered up the bird, gave her a necklace and plopped on the hat.

And none of these girls needed the hat, once I was done with their makeovers. I hope to get a few of these little Miss Vintagey gals listed in the shop today, along with more millinery, if the cloudy skies ever clear up so I can take a good photo!

I'm cleaning up the Boutique, deleting all the sold goods ( by the way, THANKS!) so you could shop more easily there and even created a new category- Sale Priced Goods

And don't forget, what ever is left in the Etsy shop is half off the price it is listed at, details in the previous post.

edit- there are sequinned girls, millinery packs, and new (old) jewelry added to the Boutique now.

A fine feathered mess and some mosaic madness

antiques/junking, family, Food and Drink, give away, parties, Sugarwings, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage

By Karla Nathan / July 11, 2009

Sugarwing's Princess bed is coming along… but there have been a few hold ups. Its painted and pretty, that part was easy. But- a regular crib mattress wouldn't quite fit, so I am custom making one. Now, I might have mentioned that I hate to sew- but I seem to get stuck doing it a lot. Well, as long as it is a straight stitch and there are no zippers or buttons involved, I can do it. But I complain a lot!

Add in two bags of feathers and 3 bags of poly-fill fluff, and I have to tell you, it does become any more fun. I am sewing a giant, fluffy pillow for her out of waterproof, flannel backed fabric and trying to get more feathers in it than on the floor. (I bought two down filled pillows on clearance for $7.99 at Tuesday Morning and am using that for part of the stuffing. The pillow cases that came on them are going to be cut up into ribbons, they are silk!)

After that, I'll need to custom make the sheets! I think I'll go with giant size pillow cases.

Oh, but she is worth it!

Before our trip to the zoo, we threw a fairy tea party for Sugarwing's little cousin, Pixie Pie, who just turned two this week.

Then, all the grandparents took the cousins to the zoo. Because the heat was so bad and there had been storms earlier in the day, the place was deserted, like a private playground for these little fairy babies.

I don't know why this was set up at the zoo, but we came around a corner and there sat a jump house. Like I said, the park was our own private play ground, so we wriggled in under the flaps and jumped away. Mostly we just fell down and laughed till our sides hurt.

There is nothing more fun than being a grandma.

Well, garage sailing is pretty fun too.

I had sugarwings till almost noon today, so could only get to a couple sales. But I found some goods, and at one estate sale, I had a long conversation with the family after seeing a billion old patterns. Now, I am not a pattern person myself, but I love old trims. I figured if there were patterns, there were sewing supplies, and they said yes there was. They just didn't think anyone would want them! They said they would give me a call and get a box to me.

For the July Garage Sale Giveaway Prize Pack, I found a little bit, not much. A doily, a bag of buttons, and a pretty button card. I also bought a bunch of ribbon roses, not new, but still nice to use. I tied up a bouquet of them to add to the giveaway. All comments, all month are entered, and I will add more to the package each week.

See, these ribbon roses aren't the same as the vintage millinery that I love so much, but they aren't bad at all. I'm just a bit spoiled by finding old ones so often.

There was a big bag of buttons at a small sale that didn't even look like it was worth stopping at. But since I hadn't been to many at all and it was late in the day, I wasn't being picky, and I stopped anyway. I was glad I did, not because I particularly need more buttons, but because they are always nice to find anyway.

I listed this bunch in the Boutique. There are some sweet ones in the group.

These miniature farm animals too. Aren't they cute? I kept part of the set, some little wooden houses. I want to paint them up and glitter them to use in Christmas decor. I think they are pretty old from the looks of the other things at that sale, but can't say for sure. The person selling them said they were her Mom's and she played with them as a kid.

OK, gotta go. stupid Typepad keeps locking up my screen! Plus, I can't ignore that giant pillowcase waiting to be made so that Sugarwings will have a new Princess bed waiting for her. (I found floral king sized sheets for 15 cents each today too, and am using those to make the sheets for the new bed).

A couple more mini redos in progress

Hand Painted Furniture, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / July 10, 2009

Sugarwings and I are hard at work on making some improvements to the Fairy Berry Trail. We decided that the fairies needed a home to build nests in.

Since I had some painting to do, I turned Sugarwings loose with paint and a brush to work on her project too. I am making a nest for my own little fairy. This is an antique bed that I found at an auction and paid WAY too much for (70 bucks) but when it is done, it will will be the perfect place for my fairy grand baby to wrap her little wings around herself like a blanket and curl up at night.

Sugarwings has been climbing out of her baby bed, and I am worried about her falling, so this bed will be lower to the ground, plus I am hoping it will be something she wants to stay in. She calls it her princess bed and is pretty excited about it.

I'll have more pictures when her room is done. And when the fairy houses are complete. They are going to need a lot more sparkle and glitz on them if she wants to attract some fairies to them. But for now, we are off to the Topeka Zoo for the afternoon. And tomorrow, I'll be hitting garage sales. I need to find item #2 to add to my July Garage Sale Giveaway Prize Pack.

Crowning Glories

Sugarwings, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / June 10, 2009

Andrea is asking us to show our crowns. And since I am a crown lover, just had to play along, even though I will be in DC and unable to participate in real time. So, I'm pre-posting this before I leave.

Funny, I never really thought of myself as a doll person, but I look around my studio and seem to have become a doll collector at some point…. Little figurines, statues, toys, all sorts of babies.

And I've always loved crowns, but just didn't realize how much till I went to my first Silver Bella. I think that my crown love was a hidden away secret till I joined a group where crown loving was accepted and common!

Tiaras and crowns were always something I enjoyed, but not really wore, or used much in every day life. Now, they are a big part of my life, and I seem to have an abundance of them. These that I am showing you are from a quick walk around my studio. My home itself is all royall-ed up too. Can you have enough of them?? Not as far as I am concerned.

Especially if they are hand crafted or vintage. This one is both., I made it from a vintage metal trim.

Working on this photo shoot for Romantic Country with my pal, Carol and seeing the darling crowns that she made, was right up my alley.

Carol taught me how she makes these little sparkling beauties from gutter guard wire. I wrote the article and included instructions from her on how they were assembled, then of course, HAD to make up a bunch myself!

This one is sporting a glittered dove.

And my sugared Twinkle figurine wears a crown that once was part of a vintage earring.

I'm not always lucky enough to find old jewelry that is crown shaped, but when I buy vintage pieces I always try to find bits that could be elements to form a crown, like this fairy's rhinestone bauble.

And of course, little cake topper ballerinas come with a crown already in place. I just enhance theirs a bit with a rhinestone or crystal.

You could almost call this fairy's crown more of a hat, than a crown. But in my mind, it is -of course- a crown!

Every fairy deserves a royal headpiece! Sugarwings loves them too. Although she calls them "corns".

Sweet Sioux

family, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / May 28, 2009

We're back from Sioux City, and it was an emotional trip, as well as being filled with all sorts of Sugarwings Fun.

When I was a young, divorced, and penniless, mom with two rambunctious sons, my Mom took us in. She had been transferred to Sioux City, so my sisters packed us up in Indiana, and drove the boys out to her home in Iowa, since I didn't even own a car at the time.

My Mom has been gone a few years now, but I will be grateful all of my life for the help she was to us when I really really needed her. She not only took us in, she helped take care of my wild and crazy boys while I worked and got back on my feet. To do that, she sold her cozy little one bedroom cottage, that was just perfect for her, and bought this beautiful, old brick palace with space for a family.

That house was so stately and special. Going back to see it again was heart wrenching, but was the first thing I had to do when we got to town. The house meant a lot to Mom too, she'd been through some rough times, and not so nice men in her life, so owning a house like this and being able to support us when we were desperate for help, was a boost of confidence for her. She was so proud of how hard she had worked and this house was kind of a symbol of all she had done for herself to get to that point. And was she was even prouder to be able to say that she did it "without a man".

Dear Abby and Ann Landers had been raised in this house. (I'm sure I could have used some of their advice at times while I was a single mom) And it had once been a fantastic neighborhood. But the area seems to be going down hill, now. It made me very happy to see "our" house so well cared for and tended to. It looked like a huge, and multi-generational family lived there now, with a grampa in the garden and babies on the porch. That seemed fitting.

While in Sioux City, we visited Palmer Candy. Sugarwings was pretty happy with that part of the trip….

We bought a case of their Cherry Twin Bings, as souvenirs to give to family and friends here at home.

Down along the river, a monument to Lewis and Clark has been built in the years since we lived in that town. The fairy grand baby figured it was part of the playground equipment.

Since we were doing a lot of driving around and sightseeing, we promised to stop at all the parks we passed for Sugarwings to get out and stretch. My husband's mom is a kid at heart too and she was happy to do more than just stretch when we made park stops.

Traveling with a two year old meant lunches at places like Chuck E Cheese instead of quaint roadside diners my husband usually prefers. Usually, we tryto eat local cuisine, like Iowa loose meats, but for this trip, it was a lot of hotel food and kid friendly restaurants.

Honestly, we didn't care what the meal was, just spending all that time with our little one and doing things she loved to do made this trip one of the best of our lives. Finding a hotel with a water park was the best part of the trip for her, we stayed at a Holiday Inn downtown Omaha that seemed to be empty except for us. We had the whole pool area to ourselves.

And right now, Holiday Inn has a special. Stay 3 nights at any hotel they own, and get a 4th free in August. We plan on going back to Omaha in August for Sugarwings birthday to stay at this one again. I threw my back out on this trip, and didn't get to play in the water park. I sure enjoyed the hot tub, though. When we go back in August, I look forward to splashing around on all the slides.

Since I hurt my back, I won't be going to see Aunt Caroline this week. Thank you all for the well wishes and prayers for her health, it sounds like she is doing well. I hope that I can go to Florida to see her for her 101st birthday in June instead.

The Blue Bird of Happiness has moved in with us at the Cottage

family, flowers, Food and Drink, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / May 21, 2009

Today felt more like Summer than Springtime, and while I was hit with guilt about not having my bedding plants out yet, I was sure enjoying the perennials and so glad that we have such well established beds that can be completely and totally ignored and still look good (well, that is if you look away from the grass growing in the iris)

It was such a pretty day, we took lunch outside to eat.

Doesn't everything taste even better outside? Especially when served off of a princess plate.

The day was too nice to stay sitting at the table, Sugarwings wanted to explore.

And of course, she had to make sure that Grammy was following her. This is a wooden bridge that I found in a dump 15 years ago (don't ask how I drug it out and got it home myself). I always liked the little bridge, but this fairy grand baby just adores crossing it. She always stops to check underneath of it for trolls.

If only iris bloomed all summer…. I just love this time of year, I'll miss these when they are done, they bloom and fade too fast.

Sugarwings is learning the names of the flowers, she calls quite a few of them iris or snowball bushes, though. She thinks that the peonies are snowballs like the viburnums. I have to agree with her, they do look like big white snowballs.

But the peonies smell better.

The best part of summer coming? We can paint outside! (yes, she is still a paint taster, although it looks like she has moved on from blue to black paint now) Last year, there was a photo of her printed in "Where Women Create" all covered in blue paint.

But now, it is MY turn to be a model!

Yep, I am gracing the pages of a trade magazine that showcases New Holland Tractors, along with my niece, Shelli. Hmm, should I add this to my list of publications that I've been in? Probably not…

As if things weren't happy enough around here, most days, at least- look at this! The blue bird of happiness has come to live with us. Its a gift from Cindy and I just love it. Thanks, Cindy!!

Packing up

fairies, Sugarwings, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / May 12, 2009

Oh, I am so far behind! I'm leaving Thursday for Jenn's event- En Le Jardin and had hoped to make up goodies to take to the mini market that Jenn is setting up for us during part of the weekend. But between Sugarwing's Daddy being ill, and a few other unplanned issues, I've got nothing ready.

Some weeks, there just isn't enough time in the days. Well, most weeks.

I thought I'd make up some tags, some wallpaper packs and then bring a bundle of bling. Vintage jewels are always a hit! But, even though I ironed and sorted wallpaper and made up a couple dozen tags, and piled up some old jewels, none of them are quite ready to go. Pricing and packing are holding me up.

Creating never seems to be the problem, that is the fun part to squeeze in! Its the marketing that gets me.

My revised plan, is to just get my necessities packed and ready to go. Then, if there is time (and space in the suitcase!), I'll gather up some of these goods and toss them in the bag.

Some how, I doubt there will be time. I have the fairy grand baby for most of this week till I fly away to Atlanta with my good buddy, Carol.

Plus, its a vacation! I don't want to stress out about getting ready. This is going to be fun and relaxing, I don't think I want to turn it into work. Plus, its not like these tags will go to waste. I listed a few in my Boutique already, and can add the wallpaper and the rest of the tags when I return from the Deep South.

This trip is something I have been looking forward to for so long, I can't believe that it is already here! I really do need to pack. I have about 12 hours straight tomorrow with Sugarwings, who can pull things out of a suitcase as fast as it goes in, so I should pack early and get it done tonight after she goes to bed.

She has been so funny this week. Life with her has been a parade of one costume after another. Here she is as "Glenda" from Oz. Its really just a princess dress from Target, but to her, she is a Good Witch now. I've had her helping me with potions too, we are making up all natural bug repellent.

I really dislike the smell of citronella, and don't want to use pesticides on her, so here is what I came up with, water in a spray bottle, with some of each of these essential oils plus some no-foam biodegradable soap. I'll let you know if we end up covered and chigger and mosquito bites anyway.

Besides taking care of Sugarwings and her poor, sick Daddy, then making tags and cutting wallpaper after her bedtime, I've done a little sewing. Yes, I know, I complain about sewing a lot, but I do it anyway. It isn't as if I like the action of doing it, I like the stuff I get out of it.

So, I put up with the stupid machine.

Remember when Scarlett O'Hara made a dress out of drapes? I feel a bit like that, decking out a tee shirt with doilies.

I figured it was appropriate for visiting Georgia.

This one is made from a couple of vintage pictures I downloaded and printed onto fabric and sewed onto the shirt. I sewed the girl onto the butterfly to create a fairy.

Then, I further goobered it up with dye markers, glitter pens and ribbon. Oh, and a ritzy rhinestone button from my hoarded stash of old buttons. I hate clothes. I hate shopping for and buying clothes, and really hate packing for a trip. All I like to wear are tee shirts, so I thought I'd foof a few for the trip.

But on the other hand, I am worrying that I am turning into my mother who used to sew quilt squares and appliques onto her sweat shirts. Scary thought. I love my mom, but I really don't want to dress like her…..

Happy Mother’s Day!

Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / May 10, 2009

Our Mother's Day tradition is that the guys in the family help me with garden work, and spreading mulch. Now, why is this a gift for me, instead of something that they just do anyway because they are grown men and mulch is heavy? Well, it started when the boys were just boys, and instead of shopping for a gift, they helped with projects. Now, it is a tradition that we all spend the day together and work in the yard.

Of course, that means I work too, and I am beginning to wonder what it would be like to have a pampering style Mother's Day instead of a grueling, hard working one.

We are trying something new this year with the garden. I've laid out this 100% recycled brown paper, cut holes for the plants, then covered it in grass clippings. Of course, with Sugarwings helping, I wore more grass clippings than I spread, or so it felt. She had a great time throwing the grass up in the air and running through it. Or tossing it my way, and I must have had a bushel of it in my shirt when we were done.

I'm hoping this brown paper helps with weed control. I have tried black plastic in flower beds and that was a disaster for me. This paper is supposed to biodegrade and turn to compost to be plowed under. Sounds good, if it works.

Sugarwings and I have the next three days together. I'll be watching her a little extra this week before my big trip to Georgia to go to Jenn's gathering. So, please forgive me if I don't get to answer comments. I promise I am still reading and enjoying them, when I get a chance, but probably won't have time to respond. My husband will be out of town and it will just be me and the little one for most it. We'll have a good time, but not much of it will be spent checking emails, I'm sure!

Hope all of you mommies and grammies are having a lovely day. Happy Mother's Day to you all!