Sugarwings – Page 44 – Karla's Cottage

A heart here and there

family, give away, Sugarwings, swaps, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / February 14, 2008

Of course, now that it is too late to make use of them for Valentines Day, I found a bag full of heart charms! Some really pretty ones too.

On the other hand, when would I have had time to make enough Valentines to use all of these up? Its not like I haven’t been making things every day anyway. When would I have made something more? Sometimes I have to just realize that there is only so much time in the day!!

And they certainly don’t rot, so I’ll set them aside for next year. Also, a heart here and there is always nice year round. Especially in my Sugarwings Scrapbooks.

She certainly has my heart!

I adore this Sugarwings Valentine that was made by the other Karla, Sugar Bear.

You know what else I love? Strawberry Malted Milk balls. How sweet and pretty they are, so tempting and pink and crunchy.

Valentine’s Day is the anniversery of the day my husband adopted our boys. We always celebrate with a family dinner out. But this year, we had to have our bash early, due to Rich’s travel schedule. So I am going to DC with him and we will have a romantic Valentine’s getaway togehter, for the first time in, well, let me see, 20 years???

I will be posting from DC and will announce the winners of the OHOW giveaway as well as my one year blog anniversery drawing from our apartment out East. I will mail the gifts when I get home next Monday.

For my anniversery (has it really been a year??) I have this large shipping tag with a sweet vintage birdie on it (in honor of my "bling your Bird House day" coming up soon)

There is also an embellished matchbox, with a rose and glitter theme, and some heart charms for the holiday.

I included the matchbox because it reminded me of one of the first swaps I was in as a blogger, Natasha’s Shabby Chic Matchbox Swap.

I’ve loved all the swaps I have been involved with over the last year. Even though, when I first heard about swapping, I thought it was a weird thing to do. But man, try one, just one, and you are hooked forever. What is it about them that is so addictive?

If you’d like to enter my Begosh and Begorra Two Tag Swap, details can be found Here. Please make sure I send you my address, if you have already said you’d like to be in and I didn’t give you my address, will you please contact me again? Sorry if I forgot to give it to you.

Same with giveaways. When I first saw one a year ago on someone’s blog, I wondered why on Earth they’d be giving their stuff away for no reason. But I just had to try that once too, and hey look at me! I am the queen of giveaways. I always have at least one going at a time, usually more.

I get such joy from wrapping and sending presents. I think I’ll add another giveaway now!!

For my Bling your Birdhouse Day that I am co-hostessing with Beth, how about if I give away one of the little birdhouses I just made?

I’ll give two away!!

I’ll give one away on the day of the party and another on the day of the tutorial. Dates here

It is my 50th birthday year and i have a LOT of celebrating to do! Expect more gifts from me in the future. And thanks sooooo much for the last year, it was the best. I appreciate all your visits and support. Its nice to know that I am not just sitting here typing to myself. Although, I’d probably do that anyway, it is hard to shut me up.

Thanks everyone! I’m glad to have all of you as my Valentines!

Begosh and Begorra and be ready for a new swap! Yep ANOTHER ONE!

Etsy Goodies, holiday decor, Moving to DC, Sugarwings, swaps, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / February 13, 2008

I’m going to Virginia tomorrow to stay at our apartment there for a few days. I’ve posted a bit ahead and they are timed and ready to go. I’ve never tried that before, but it sounds like a good idea! There just seems to be more to photograph around here than in the bachelor pad my husband lives in part time.

I still haven’t packed for the trip yet. This photo might explain why. Sugarwings spent the night with us and I had her till 6pm today.

We discovered a new trick- Grandmama’s studio floor is perfect for chalk!

My little budding artist also discovered that if you chew up and spit out the blue chalk, it makes a great paint you can smear around on the floor with your fingers.

Sounds like something I would try to do myself.

The fairy grand baby also helped me to make this today. Of course, she mostly wanted to put the blue eggs in her mouth. I hope my swap partner doesn’t mind getting eggs that have been slightly chewed on.

My partner is Heather and her blog is Jeweled Elegance, so I knew I’d need some sparklies on this nest.

I added a crown covered in jewels and glitter, a sparkly robins’ egg, and some old flowers that I sprinkled with the sparklies too.

The swap is hosted by Heather at Speckled Egg. I have NEVER gotten into one of her cool swaps in time, I was so glad to squeak into this one at the last minute, thanks, Heather!

Plus this was a quick one to put together. Sugarwings and I made this while chasing her around the studio today testing out my supplies. I had all the elements glittered up all ready to go, all we did was glue them into place in this Johnson Bros. tea cup.

Speaking of birds and their homes, I started a flickr group for our Birdhouse Bling Day. (details for the swap in my previous post).

Here is the Flickr site. It is open to the public, feel free to post birdhouse photos whenever you’d like! You don’t have to write a blog to use this, its open to all.

And speaking of swaps– is anyone interested in a St Pats Tag Swap? Just a simple quickie.

A reader, Jenny, asked me if I knew of any St Pat swaps and I hadn’t seen any around, so I asked her if she wanted to do a one on one tag swap. Come to find out, she is a newbie and hasn’t had a chance to swap yet. So I thought, we should do one and show her how!

All you need to do is make 2 tags, any size, any shape, any old way you want as long as they have a St Patrick’s Day theme. Send it to me with a self addressed, stamped envelope (make sure that your postage is covered, this might weigh more than one stamp’s worth). I’ll swap them around and send you two back.

Quick and easy, no large packages and tons of stuff involved, just send a couple, get a couple.

Have them here by March 5th (Friday) and I’ll get them out to you in time to slip under your pillow on St Pat’s eve for good luck, and sweet dreams of green beer.

Also, help yourself to any of these Irish images I scanned. I thought I had more, hmmm. This tag thing could be harder than I thought if this is all I have to work with.

Sissy, do you have any Celtic type things you’d like to send along and share?

While I was scanning, I copied the cover of Somerset Life and sent it to Sadie Olive (who beautifully laid out my blog for me). She added this one to the list of magazines to the left. Thanks, Sara!!

As promised, I made up some Cottage Collage Bird House Bling Kits and listed them on Etsy for $10 each. There are 3 left I think.

I might be able to make up a few more when I get back from DC.

I also listed a few more things, tried to stock up before I go out of town.

But I’m afraid all orders won’t get mailed till after I get back on Monday. Then, Tuesday is my Sugarwings day and not a lot gets done when she is around! They will be packed up that night after she leaves. Unless you don’t mind having your things slobbery and chewed on, I don’t think I should let her help.

Well, no more excuses, I need to go and pack for my trip!

The Art of Rejection and Sugarwings thinks that nothing is more fun than a wrestling rat

Etsy Goodies, magazine pictures or articles, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / February 8, 2008

Ever have something for sale that you know that you just love and wonder why no one seems to be interested in it? I had this hand made folder, made with some pretty wallpaper and hand painted roses for sale, and the listing just expired.

So, I took a look at the photos, and decided it was not well represented. A little dark, not clear enough, bad background, and the ephemera it was packed with looked messy.

These are the re-do photos.

I rearranged the ephemera to a prettier order, added a vintage brooch to the tulle bow, and lowered the price. Now, if it sells, how will I ever know which trick was effective? well, you just don’t anyway. You do what you can to make your pictures and your prices as attractive as you can and then you cross your fingers! You just hope someone likes what you put out there.

And as an artist, you have to learn to have a thick skin about rejection.

I’ve been the juror at enough art and craft shows, screening the people who apply to sell their work, to know that "no" doesn’t mean "yuck". It means, "not right for this right now."

I’ve turned away really good art, that wasn’t right for an art festival. Or I have been working at a gallery, hanging a show and just have to leave out a piece that was nice but that wasn’t fitting in.

I guess what I am trying to say to other artists out there, is don’t be discouraged. Keep trying, keep making the things you love and keep looking for your audience.

Rejection is never easy, but after so many years in the business, it honestly doesn’t bother me the way it did when I was younger. I’ve learned that if a piece doesn’t fit in one place, usually it will fit into another.

Or if it doesn’t sale, the right buyer still hasn’t seen it.

Or maybe I didn’t display or photograph it as well as I should, or had the price correct, or have it for sale in the right venue.

Or maybe the piece needs a bit of tweaking and a slight redo.

Other times, I just need to admit that maybe the piece wasn’t as good as it could be, and it just wasn’t going to sell anyway. That’s the hardest one to learn.

So, I redid and relisted the folder on Etsy. And my magic wands that Somerset is sending back I will list also. Somerset Life is using some of my folders in the next issue. Also, a framed baby doll dress is still there with them, and I think that they will be using this memo board.

I made the memo board from old ceiling tin cut to fit this frame. The magnets are buttons, jewelry and millinery flowers.

I’ll let you know if they plan on using it for the July issue. As an artist, sometimes you can feel like you hear "no" more than any other word!

As a grandma, you hear it a lot too. Sugarwings is in a "NO" mood today and yelled it at everyone and everything.

So what do you do with a contrary baby who is tired of being cooped up inside on a cold, wintry Midwestern day?

You go to the pet store!

Chinchillas and canaries at Pet Smart are as exciting to a one year old as a trip to the zoo would be to an older kid. It got all of us out of the house and smiling.

ps- the wallpaper folder is sold and is on it’s way to Jeanne!

Dorkies in the Snow

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), Etsy Goodies, I've been tagged, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / February 6, 2008

When is SUMMER coming? I am not a winter person.

Twinkle, on the other hand is loving this snow.

Sparkle, our Little Miss Butterball, who you’d think has enough fat on her bones to keep her warm, wasn’t any happier about the snow than I was.

After walking the dogs, I scurried right back into the house and stayed there. I made use of the snow day by continuing my scrap booking.

Slowly but, surely, I am working my way through the 7 months worth of photos I am behind on.

I seem to have gotten out of chronological order somehow, here is Thanksgiving, and I don’t have Halloween in yet.

And on the page next to Thanksgiving, here is a sunny summer photo.

Hey, at least they are getting done!

When I got to our trip to the Renaissance Festival, there were so many, I need to do some collage work with a couple of pages. I used the guide map from the festival for the background and added our tickets to it too.

I didn’t want to fill a whole book with nothing but Renfest, but on the other hand, all the pictures of Sugarwings that day were so cute, I had to include them! So I made a big pocket and filled it with loose photos.

Look at the mess on my desk, do you wonder how I get anything done? I work and accumulate scraps and mess till I can’t take it anymore, before I finally clean up.

If only I could get into the habit of picking up as I go along.

I also made some time to list a TON of things on Etsy.

SOLD

Not a bad day for staying put at the computer for a while, getting things listed.

I am feeling so much better now, thanks for all your well wishes. I didn’t have a very bad case of the flu. I’m not saying it was fun, but it wasn’t as bad as it could be.

And tomorrow, I get to go and play in Kansas City with Beth. I’m glad I recovered in time! We plan on seeing a couple movies, so we are closer to being caught up on the Oscar list.

Another friend, Sandra has tagged me for this "meme".

If any of you want to play along, consider yourself tagged!

4 JOBS I’VE HAD

Mural painter

Bartender

Jewelry maker

Antique dealer

4 MOVIES I LOVE

The Jerk

National Lampoons Christmas Vacation

Labyrinth

A Christmas Story

4 PLACES I’VE LIVED

Lawrence, Kansas

Pendleton, Indiana

Russellville, Arkansas

Wertheim, Germany

4 TV SHOWS I WATCH

Only four?? You’ve got to be kidding. I am a

TV junkie!! Idol, Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, Top Model

Top Chef, Runway, Survivor, ER, Office, How I Met

Your Mother, the Tudors, Flight of the Conchords,

Trading Spaces (now that Paige is

Back!) and on and on and on

4 PLACES I’VE BEEN OUTSIDE THE US

I’ve been to the Bahamas a few times and lived in

Germany for a couple of years

4 PEOPLE I EMAIL REGULARLY

Beth, Sissy, Bobbie, and my handsome husband

Plus I answer the dozens I get every day

4 OF MY FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT

Another one of those, you’ve got to be kidding ones.

Only 4??? OK, I’ll go with what I eat most of the time

And love, baked chicken, cinnamon rice cakes, vanilla

Yogurt, pasta, sweet potatoes, chicken pad Thai, popcorn

4 PLACES I’D RATHER BE

I love to be here in my studio! But, anywhere with

Sugarwings, at a movie with my husband, junking

With Beth, on the lake with my family- but not in this

Weather, it would have to be summer time!

4 THINGS I LOOK FORWARD TO

Baby-sitting Sugarwings, making things,

Going to DC to see my husband next week and having

a special Valentine’s Day with him, SUMMER

Sugarwings, scrapbooking, and soup

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

By Karla Nathan / February 5, 2008

The flu bug is still attacking me, but I think I see an end in sight, finally. I am starting to feel more like myself. But not good enough to babysit for Sugarwings today.

She went to play with friends today, and I got out some of her photos and made a much delayed start on a new photo album. It has been forever since I sat down and ‘scrapped’.

I started with an album I had decorated earlier, it was waiting for me, ready to fill with pictures. I tied a tag onto it that came from my friend, Karen . I plan on using a lot of the tags I received as gifts from our Sweet Treats Swap in the scrapbook. On the back of Karen’s tag, I glued a photo of the fairy grand baby.

I like to use a lot of pockets in my albums too. The one on this page, is simply a pretty envelope I had received from someone, that I glued to the page.

Tying a ribbon to the corner of a picture before tucking it into a pocket makes it easier to take out and look at. I also make sure to either glue two photos back to back, or to glue pretty paper to the backside of the photo, for stability. That way the hole punched for the ribbon is sturdy and won’t tear.

It might be hard to tell from this picture, but the photo of Rich and I is in a greeting card. I save cards that I get and use them as folders in my albums.

The ticket inside the card is one that Sissy made for me, it says "wishes".

I embellished the page with scrolls drawn with a blue marker and added a German die cut that went with the garden theme on the first picture.

I haven’t done any scrap booking since Sugarwings turned one in August! I have been trying to keep organized, and setting aside things I wanted to use in the new album, and the photos I needed to put into it, all in a Rubber-maid container.

It was getting kind of full!

I am keeping up with my New Years resolution to do more hand drawn or painted things in my collage work. I’ve added lots of simple scrolls and posies to these pages, and hope to get my paints out tonight when I do the next few pages.

Speaking of hand drawn work, these cards came in the mail today from Jen R.

I won them in a contest on her blog, but they felt like a get well present today! Thanks, Jen, they are so pretty.

I stayed in bed most of yesterday and today, trying to get over this cough and sore throat. But I did get this wallpaper book finished, and listed on Etsy after finishing it.

I used one of the wooden cut out birds I had covered in blue flocked wallpaper on the cover, and painted a branch for her to nest in, then built her a nest from shredded wallpaper.

Inside the book is a whole collection of my favorite papers, and it also comes along with a scrap pack of wallpapers I had used when making the book, to use in your own project.

I can see these as art journals or scrap books. Can’t you just imagine a photo of someone adorable on each page? hmmm, maybe I need to keep one just for Sugarwing pictures!

I sold the one I listed yesterday, and plan to list a couple more, but don’t know how many I will be making. If you are interested, feel free to email me about any of them in the previous post.

In case anyone’s paper doll has a Valentines Ball to attend, I listed this ball gown today too. It is made of a great wallpaper of brocade silk, one of my all time favorite papers. I had actually bought the paper to do a wall in my home and never did. I had it packed away for about 20 years, and am glad to have it for projects now, because as fickle as I am about home decor, it would have been torn off the walls years ago and replaced, and wasted if I had actually used it as wallpaper.

Has anyone seen the Mermaid swap that is going on now??? I am crazy about Mermaids. You can see all the photos at this Flickr Site. It is yet again, another great swap I missed out on joining!!

This is one that I made (last year), she is a German porcelain doll that I dooded up. Her hair is a fluffy yarn that I dyed to match the fabric I bought to make her tail from.

I don’t sew, that made the tail a challenge for me. I figured it out somehow, and made the thing tail-like by sewing a long pipe cleaner inside it to give it shape, then filling it with beans to give it form.

She was then glued onto a starfish that I added pearls and tiny shells to.

And of course, I had to glitter up the starfish.

It has been days since I have felt like eating, even tho my sweet son Ry, bought me a can of soup. But today, I must be doing better, because I have some chicken simmering on the stove, ready to make my own soup.

Well, that and the fact that my other son, Sugarwing’s Daddy, has caught the same bug, and I need to make soup for him, since he is my baby. I need to get it done and take it across town to him before the big snow storm starts (yes ANOTHER one!).

Teaparties and presents

Chandeliers, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, give away, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / January 30, 2008

I am getting ready to put together the Sweet Treats and Roses swap books with Beth tomorrow and luckily two of the books are being mailed to people I am sending gifts to, so I thought I’d slip these into the packages.

The purple flowered pendant with the amethyst drop goes to my buddy, Barb, who also shares my birthday.

She had surprised me with this Fairyland ornament for Christmas and I wanted to do something nice for her. I am keeping it up year round, and hung it from the chandelier above my computer, so I always have my Sugarwings close by.

The other necklace goes to the winner of my 5558th comment prize, my pal, Heather. Having gotten to know Heather through reading her blog and exchanging emails, I think that she will like the colors I have chosen for her pendent.

Speaking of presents, Sugarwings got this wonderfully cute skirt in the mail!

I’d entered a giveaway on Clarice’s blog a couple of weeks ago and won this skirt for the fairy grand baby.

The skirt was made by Christy Misty and she has some adorable pants on her website too. Thanks Christy!

This skirt is a 3-4 and is a bit too large for my little sprite yet, but she’ll grow into it.

She loves to play dress up and for now will wear it as a tea party dress.

When I take her up the stairs to her play room, she always hands me something pretty to dress her in. She expects her special play room to be a formal occasion and can’t just wear any old thing up there where all her favorite bears and dolls will see her!

And of course, she likes to see others play along. Its a good thing that little Twinks is a happy dog who will do anything for her "litter mate" . These two grew up together and are inseparable.

The wings were a gift from Carol, and I can see they will be getting plenty of use in the future! I think it will be my turn to wear them next.

Finally, I attacked some of the Christmas decor that was still lurking upstairs. While the baby played with the puppy and the dolls, I took down the decorations in her room. Not all of them made it to the box, a lot just got shuffled around the room to live there year round, like these fairies that I put on the chandelier over the day bed.

I don’t know which of them came up with this idea, but they both seemed to enjoy it.

Twinkle is a good hearted dog and I think I see lots of doll clothes in her future. I hope she enjoys dressing up as much as the baby does, because I doubt if she’ll have a choice in the decision in the next few years.

I could get used to this……….

I do tend to run on, don't I?, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 28, 2008

Did I enjoy my trip?? Look at this goofy grin, it says it all! I had a blast, wallowing around in all that luxury.

We even had sunshine and warmish weather for most of the trip.

After a long, dark, and cold winter in Kansas, I had almost forgotten how a bed of blooming flowers can lighten up my heart.

I could have been perfectly happy just staring at the colors all weekend and soaking up some springtime.

Honestly, I enjoyed sitting in a rocker in the courtyard with Victoria magazine, listening to the fountain as much as all the time I spent in the spa!

And I wasn’t the only one enjoying the lovely weather.

This little guy seemed happy to pose for me.

I was missing Sugarwings when I saw the kid’s pool area. There was more than one pool, this one, as well as the adult pool near it, and a pool out side of the Ladies lounge area at the spa. I thought about peaking to see if there was a guy’s pool in their lounge, but thought it might not look good to the CEO of my husband’s company if I was thrown out of the club because I was checking out the men’s spa.

Brisk, spring time air was a bit too chilly for me to brave swimming any way. It didn’t seem to bother these guys, though.

Walking around the property and soaking up sunshine along with the perfectly manicured beauty of the surroundings was enough for me.

Everything about this hotel was PERFECT down to the last tiny detail, such as serving butter shaped like golf balls!!

Which brings me to the food. It was just almost too pretty to eat! (but I managed to try it all anyway)

For Thursday’s dinner at the country club, we meandered through the club sampling food from a dozen or more themed stations set up around the club house.

Orchids in each appetizer??? How decadent is that????? It about killed me to eat a scallop and then watch my empty cup with its pretty little blossom get carried away on the waiter’s tray. If I worked there, I’d be in the kitchen washing each one off as they came back in empty cups and putting them into water to make centerpieces.

I hope they were saved!

But then, I am the person who can’t throw away a poinsettia at the end of January because it is still valiantly trying to cling to life. Does anyone else suffer from January Poinsettia Guilt Syndrome?

Okay, back to the pictures of pretty stuff!

We were served a roof top buffet for lunch one afternoon.

And the awards banquet dinner was beautiful too (of course!)

Gourmet food does tend to be tiny, but they pack a lot of flavor into every bite!

I kept calling it all "Top Chef" food. I had ceviche as a snack one afternoon and closed my eyes to pretend Chef Tom was there next to me. (if you are not a Top Chef fan, you should at least watch the show just to see his eyes!! I have a crush on that man)

And then, of course there was the spa. I had a facial the first day, and was told to come early and enjoy the spa facilities. I wish I could have taken photos, but didn’t want to intrude on the privacy of the other women indulging themselves there.

Some people stayed all day, going from the whirlpool, swimming pool, multiple lounge areas, sauna (eucalyptically wonderful!), steam room and back again. Laying around eating fresh fruits, sipping teas, and having beauty treatments.

There was so much to offer. I loved the individual shower rooms, set up so nicely with all you could ever need in them. Then, the big mirrored dressing rooms were filled with any item you might wish to primp with. It was like Willy Wonka land for grown women instead of kids. Candy dishes set out with combs, brushes, creams, gels, anything you could desire before dressing and leaving.

I looked at the clock a lot to see how long I had been relaxing. Five minutes drag for me when I am just sitting in hot water.

Maybe it was because I just loved being outdoors so much. I went for long walks to explore the neighborhood and see the flowers.

"The River" is the name of the shopping center across the street from our resort.

Its too bad I wasn’t hungry, the restaurants were had wonderful views of the mountains and the fountains. On the other hand, the free food they were filling me up with at our hotel was too good and I just had no room to sample anything else!

I browsed mostly, admiring the cheerful, blingy California style.

But not so much the California price tags.

But, if you know me, you know I found the sale racks!

And not only were these Tees on sale- they had faeries and crystals on them!

The one on the right is my souvenir for the trip.

I fell in love with these too, but didn’t really need new sandals, since I had bought some for the trip.

And anyway- I was given a pair of Crocs as one of the many gifts they kept giving us!!!

This is just a bit of the loot they showered on us, along with books and treats. Oh and of course, the entire weekend, with flights, meals, spa treatments, golf, etc.

My husband also got a $100 gift card, but we were so overwhelmed with the generosity we had been treated to, that we donated it to the company charity. They have a fund for employees with financial difficulties. Such as one of the workers at a course my husband runs, she lost her father recently and had no money for a funeral. The company paid for all the costs for her! Now, doesn’t this sound like nice people to work for????

We were so well cared for and pampered while there.

Its too bad I am not a bigger drinker, the wines and cocktails were fabulous too. I decided this New Zealand white is my new fave.

I met so many friendly people, and should not have worried about snooty country club types. I have figured out, that at any gathering or group meeting, people can seem distant. But if you just go up and say hi and introduce yourself, they are usually just as happy to meet some one as you are.

Everyone that I talked to was as welcoming as can be and no one treated me like I didn’t fit in at all. Even if I was the only one goofy enough to be taking pictures of all of my food and acting like a dork of a tourist!!

But there is no place like home and it is wonderful to be back in Kansas with my own little "Dorothy".

I can’t say NO

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

By Karla Nathan / January 18, 2008

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

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

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

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

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

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

And it made me smile!

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

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

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

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

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

Yesterday I got NOTHING done at all.

I started the day with great intentions.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Box full of Fun

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

By Karla Nathan / January 16, 2008

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It might be a bit much…

Here is the backside of some of mine.

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

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

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

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

What a nice surprise!

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

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

bethleintz.typepad.com

http://shessewpretty.typepad.com/

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

http://catieanscorner.blogspot.com/

fromthepines.blogspot.com

http://paisleydragonfly.wordpress.com/

http://pinkpomegranate.typepad.com

http://www.abitofpinkheaven.blogspot.com

http://www.prettypetalsboutique.blogspot.com

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

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

http://www.scrappyjessi.blogspot.com

http://thejoyof.blogspot.com/

http://bluemuf.blogspot.com/

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

http://madrekarin.blogspot.com

http://sugarbeardesigns.blogspot.com

karlascottage.typepad.com

http://countrychintz.blogspot.com

http://adelinecountrycottage.blogspot.com

http://webersworld.blogsome.com

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

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

lollysnestegg.blogspot.com

http://simplysage.blogspot.com

http://theroseroomnz.blogspot.com/

http://rhondisrosecoloredglasses.blogspot.com/

http://dreamcreateinspire.blogspot.com

http//:gypsymermaidlife.blogspot.com

http://www.simplymein.typepad.com

http://shabbyinthecity.blogspot.com

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

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

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

The cute sweater Sugarwings has on was a gift

from my other sis, Bobbie Sue. Boxes_and_ducks_008

Yesterday was a

funBeth Day,

today was a fun

Sugarwings Day.

We played in her

room a while. Boxes_and_ducks_009_2

Then, we sat in the

bathroom in the

dark and

played with her

light up ducky. Boxes_and_ducks_022

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

Our box of starter logs was empty

and we decided to

have fun with the box.

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

Or to sit on while performing a concert. Boxes_and_ducks_030

Or to wrestle in.

We also sat close together and put it over all three

of our heads and told stories.

Green Eggs and Ham is a good story to tell

when you have a dog that can be the fox and

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

have a goat or a boat.

Tomorrow will be back to work, no Beth or

Sugarwings to play with.

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

Its starting to look like Christmas!

fairies, family, holiday decor, how to's, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / December 22, 2007

The view from my studio window is a blizzardy one today.

But the view inside is improving!

I actually got the studio cleaned and HALF of it is set up for my 3 big Christmas party meals coming up.

Did you notice the amazing painting on the wall??? A gift from my sister-in-law’s family.

She commissioned an oil painting of her mom and had copies on canvas framed for everyone in the family.

Look at this detail!!!! Right down to the hearing aide in Little Joan’s ear and the nub of the eraser on her mechanical pencil.

The artist is Lynn Lupetti, and I was so impressed with this portrait, I had to look her up online.

Apparently, I am not the only one impressed with her, she has paintings hanging at the Smithsonian, The Vatican, and the White House!

Now, I am stunned by this gift. Not only does it capture the sweet nature and kind face of our Little Joan, it is from a renowned artist. I loved it before I had any idea who did it.

I’m sure it was expensive and so is the frame, but do you think anyone would care if I painted the frame white?? You know it is going to happen. Maybe more of an ivory.

I placed the painting in my studio for now, so we can all enjoy it during the holiday meals I have planned for out there.

I have this side of the room set up and ready to go, and the other side is close.

I got side tracked and made some Christmas cards while trying to set up the unfinished side of the room.

I’d already had Sugarwing’s painting copied into four per page, and cut them out, some around the body, but others, just as a rectangle. All of the cards are different.

I buy note cards on clearance to use as background, this one was a teddy bear design thank you card.

I glued a piece of vintage styled scrapbook paper over the teddy, and across the back of the card to cover the writing on it. Then, I added snowflake stickers, some swirls of black glitter ink (I thought I had a silver pen, oops! but black is OK, at least it is glittery)

Then, I glued a sepia toned copy of Sugarwings onto it- and was done.

These are being kept extremely simple. I did a couple dozen this morning and now will stop and add addresses those before I do any more. I want to be sure I can get some mailed to relatives and not get carried away with cutting and gluing and having too much fun, then not have time to address or mail them. (The vintage wrapping paper is from Beth ‘s stash)

This one is on old wallpaper that has a star pattern in gold. The paper wraps the back of the card too, so you can appreciate the vintagey goodness of the print, and so it will cover the writing, since I am using premade note cards and don’t want that to show.

I cut a snippet of holiday ribbon to glue down and embellish with a brass snowflake and that is it on this one.

I keep wanting to do MORE to them, but figure that friends and family would rather get one like this, than nothing at all. And if I spend too much time on them, I wouldn’t get any out.

Plus, I really need to get back to work on the studio/dining room and get it set up completely. Looks like I will have 22-27 on Christmas Day and this side of the room is only set for 12.

The bleached and dyed bottle brush trees didn’t go as far for a centerpiece as I would have liked.

I added sugared birds, reindeer, cake plates and compotes, as well as some candle holders. Lots of clear glass and tea cups with millinery flowers or tea lights in them.

I always serve all my meals as buffets, so I can fill the center of the table with pretties and have the food set up in the kitchen where it is convenient to clean up and put away afterwords.

I don’t know how I will decorate the other side yet. Funny, that 4 packages of 21 bottle brush trees only fills one table. But they are so tiny, they need to be clustered for any impact.

See there is progress on this part too! When I finish my Christmas cards, I will stash all the supplies behind the screens and arrange them to hide the messes, foof up the tables, scrounge around the house for chairs, and as Tim Gunn says, "make it work". I might need another table squeezed in somewhere……

Hope your holiday preparations are going well too!