Travel – Page 16 – Karla's Cottage

You probably had to have been there

By Karla Nathan / March 11, 2016

The home we stayed in on Coronado Island was a highlight of the trip. It still had so many of its original elements, and we could picture ourselves back in time as we explored the back hallways, servants quarters, and even the kitchen which still had its old, old oven and ice box style wall fridges. (and there is a whole other story to come about the oven…)

While the home was spectacular, it was still homey, you could tell a family had lived there for years. We were comfy hanging out in jammies and crafting till all hours of the night, or coming down to the kitchen still groggy to put on a pot of coffee.

Yep, we got to explore the whole house. One night, we went up to check out the attics. Yes, plural attics. One didn't have a light and it was pitch black in the stairs, and as we were trying to man up to get to the next level and find a light switch, Beth spookily said, "There is something wrong here."

She had stepped in something. We couldn't see what it was, but she guessed a dead bat. I thought maybe a rat. I ran down a few flights and zoomed back up with my phone's flashlight

And discovered, about half way up the flight of stairs, one of the biggest piles of dog poo, I'd ever seen.

Dog poop?

On the stairs?

Of a unused attic of a marvelous mansion?

When we hadn't seen a dog around anywhere?

Yuck, yes dog poop. I've never seen a dog use a stairway to do that on, very odd for many reasons.

Needless to say, that dark stairwell and attic space didn't get explored that night. But we went off another direction to a lower level attic and poked around in there. I'd hoped to see 90 year old, cob webby treasures, but instead, it looked like typical modern day storage from the family. Childhood toys, outgrown sports equipment, a few pieces of unused furniture.

No dog poo, though.

Deb, our hostess, was thrilled to see 1950s Barbies in their cases full of clothes and wanted to get a photo of Beth and I with them on the steps.

As soon as I held mine up, this happened.

And we started laughing like little girls on a sleepover being silly with their besties. Laughing til our bellies ached. Laughing like this was the funniest thing that could ever, ever happen. Laughing til I had an asthma attack.

I ran down a few more flights of stairs and to the other wing, bent over with laughter, unable to breathe, while Deb and Beth followed me, to get my inhaler from my purse in my suite.

It ain't a good belly laugh unless it almost kills you.

This was a typical moment from the weekend. Beth and I had the sillies, and made the most of them. Laughing like a carefree child and being goofy is not what I expected to do on our formal Downton Abbey art retreat, but man, it sure was a fun turn of events.

A weekend full of goofy behaviour is something everyone should have. We climbed out of our bedroom window to explore a hidden patio.

Where we had a beautiful view from our part of the roof top, but made fools of ourselves in ways I won't even mention. But we sure entertained ourselves.

Beth wrote "HELP" in sticks on the roof top, and we rolled around on the roof laughing at how clever it was. It is a good laugh that knocks you down to the ground so that you can't get up.

Here is a little sketch I made for my book, showing highlights of the trip.

Maybe you had to be there?

Here is Beth's post about the mansion. You can see how stately it is, not a typical backdrop for our juvenile giggle fits.

A sea shell “Farewell Fairy” at Coronado Beach

sea shell fairies, Sugarwings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / March 9, 2016

For the last few years, every time I go to a beach, I leave behind fairies made from the shells I find while walking the shores there.

I've been told that Coronado Beach can be shell heaven or be totally bare. And I caught it on one so-so day then a few days of bareness. So I was lucky to have found enough to create this little sprite, my beach treasure hunt didn't yield many shells. Lots of sand dollars though. My husband was a champion sand dollar finder, he even found living ones that we couldn't pick up. They were everywhere he looked.

I never break or alter a shell for my fairies, so I was happy to have him find this 3/4 sand dollar that made a pretty skirt with the ruffled conch shell topper.

The shore was a bit rocky, lucky for me, one was just right for the fairy's head, because I couldn't find a shell that worked anywhere.

There might have been a lack of shells, but the sand itself more than made up for it. There were GOLD FLAKES OF GLITTER throughout on my first day there!!!!!!!!!!

Real GLITTER!!!!!!!!!!!

Apparently, the waves are filled with Mica flakes that wash up on the shore. When the surf is light, they are big, fat, flakes of gold glitter. On rougher days, the mica is pulverised into a shimmer of stardust. Every day, the sand along the water is different, but it is always sparkling.

I was in love.

I just wish the sparkles had photographed better. The glitter (and that is what real glitter is made of, MICA flakes) was one of the most unexpected treats I've ever come across on a vacation.

Well, beaches each have their own personality and specialness, like the quartz crystal on Siesta Key that keeps cool to the touch no matter how hot the sun is. And the heart shaped pieces of coral that wash up on Kaanapali in Maui. Or the shark's teeth fossils all over Venice Beach.

Why oh why do I live in the smack dab, middle of the USA, as far from any beach as you can get?

Of course, I really can't complain. We have made it to the ocean quite a bit in the last few years for Kansans.

Which is why I make all these sea shell fairies to leave behind, I want to show my love of the shore, and my gratitude for the opportunity to be there.

I treasure each moment I get to be by the water. And thank my lucky stars that I had a chance to be there.

Every day should be considered a gift, but a day by the beach is a true treasure.

I missed Kansas, but I did love Cali!

Travel

By Karla Nathan / March 5, 2016

Everything about our trip was just wonderful. Well, Sugarwings did come down with a fever and we missed the San Diego zoo, but she told me that she'd rather be sick in the hotel by the ocean with the door open than at home in bed, and seemed to be pretty happy even with a fever.

And the gas company repairman told us that the leak at the mansion where I was at for the art retreat could have blown up at any time, he said it was a "when" not an "if" for the explosion.

But, hey, none of us exploded, and I even figured out that we could finish the macaron cooking lesson with the toaster oven since the 100 year old gas stove was not repairable and was ready to blow.

Oh, and when I got home, my computer started dying off… but I did a restore on it and hope all is good. I might take it to visit a Geek just in case.

In the meantime, I'm just popping in for a quick hello, if there are no new posts coming up in the next few days, you'll know that my visit to see the Geeks was not a simple hello, and the computer is staying there a bit.

Hopefully, though, I'll have some of my photos from the trip edited and be posting soon. It really, really, was a good time. When you laugh so hard that you have an asthma attack, that is a sign that the vacation is a blast, huh?

(and thankfully not the kind of blast that a major gas leak makes)

Asian centerpieces and decor for a dinner party

celebrations, Travel, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / February 7, 2016

Well, that is not a photo you'd expect to see on my blog, is it?

Nope, not like me at all.

I travelled with my husband to Long Island to visit the Hamlet club, where the crew there had done an exceptional job and deserved a celebration. My husband's team was going to prepare and serve a special dinner and I offered to help.

When I was asked to pick up some items to decorate with, I was excited, that was right up my alley!

When I was told it was sushi night, I was flummoxed, that isn't exactly my style and I had no idea where to start.

Especially in a strange city, without my regular shopping targets. But, I went out exploring, set my Google Maps to Michaels and promptly got lost.

Very lost.

No cell service, no maps.

So, I turned into the first parking lot that I found, hoping to snag some free wireless from a business. I just so happened to be in front of an AC Moore, a store I'd not heard of, but the sign said "crafts" so I went in.

And found all the inspiration I needed for the table- some handmade, Japanese rice paper in firey dragon colors, and paper, clip on, crayon yellow, dragonflies. I bought enough rice paper to line up and use as a runner, scooped up some colorful bugs, and went from there.

Black "floating frames" were buy one get one free. I got 8, in different sizes (all they had) to use as zen garden style trays to fill with stones and moss, along with simple, cylinder candles and vases. In the larger frames, I centered a strip of coordinating rice paper for an extra layer.

To spice up the candles and vases (cheap ones from the wedding section), I bought some washi tape (that is Japanese, right??). If you are going to use washi tape to add a stripe to the top of a glass, I'd say make sure the vase or votive is as straight up and down as possible, and choose a tape that looks okay with a bit of a wrinkle in it. Because it is very hard to get it perfect. I thought about using an exacto blade to trim Vs out of the tape to make it fit better, then decided that working with the wrinkles, and burnishing them out as flat as I could was good enough.

I think it is fine.

Each frame "tray" was filled with handfuls of pebbles around the candles and flowers, with moss tucked in among the rocks. I also bought some big, black stones, and a gold paint marker. Then, I googled "Japanese lettering" and copied pictures I found.

On the backs, I wrote the English translation. I tried to chose words that went along with the event, and the people it was for, such as: pride, team, strength, friendship, self confidence, etc.

(Uhm, if you are fluent in Japanese, please don't try to read these, let's consider them arty, not accurate)

You can find anything online can't you? I thought that it would be a nice touch to have origami folded napkins too. So looked up youtube videos on folding swans.

I had a short period of time to pull this all off, from shopping to creating to setting the table. And the swans were not going well. So, I quickly switched to butterflies. Which went much, much faster. In all, I had about an hour into ironing and folding the napkins, and most of that was a learning curve. Once I figured out the steps, it went quickly.

The tall, clear vases were filled with more pebbles, and I split a package of curly twigs and bamboo between the 8 vases on the table and a larger one on the buffet.

On the way to the club, I got lost again and found the coolest grocery store I'd ever been in. I am a huge, Trader Joe's fan, and discovered the REAL deal type place that the chain is probably based on. It was an older market, full of imports and good prices too. I could've wandered around sampling cheeses and filling my cart with pasta from Italy, all day, but had to get to the club to set my table.

Before leaving, I picked up two bundles of freesias in yellow and orange for only $6 each, and they were the most perfect finishing touch for the vases. It wasn't something I'd set out to find. I thought that the vases looked pretty good with the washi tape, dragonflies, and curly twigs. But a few, small handful of bright flowers really improved the whole table.

There were even enough yellow freesias to add to the buffet table vase too.

There aren't any pictures of the buffet table because I was helping serve the appetisers by the time the main course was set out.

Yep, I was a waitress too.

When I was a single mom, that is how I supported my kids. And I met my Handsome Husband while waitressing at a Holiday Inn where he worked at the front desk. After I was married, I kept it up for years because the hours were great, I could work lunches while the kiddos were in school.

And I always loved doing the job and thought I was pretty good at it. So, I figured I still would be.

WHOA!!!!!!!!

Not so much.

The first thing I noticed as people were starting to come in, was that the trays were much heavier than I remembered. Very heavy.

Now, I still carry 9 year old Sugarwings around a lot. I garden, I keep busy. I'm not a gym rat, but I do lift some free weights (well sometimes).

But it didn't take long to find out that I do not have a single waitress muscle left in my body. Instead of 8 to 12 plates on a big tray, I could barely heft an empty, large tray over my head. I stayed with small, drink trays and carried a couple plates at a time, making many more trips back and forth that way.

Let me brag a smidge that I still had the drive and the eye for waitressing. I can spot a half filled glass and top it off before the guest even knows they are running low on water. I can whisk away a plate within seconds of the diner deciding he is done eating, and will scoop up all extra items on the placemat, keeping the area tidy.

But, boy, was I achey after all of it. It was fun to be a part of the event, and I loved the challenge of decorating, but the exhaustion that came with serving the meal really threw me emotionally. I wasn't prepared to face the fact that my youth is far, far behind me and I just can't keep up with things I used to do.

I think I'll keep my day job. Or maybe practice carrying trays around and get ready ahead of time before I do it again? I was too cocky to think of that, I figured I'd be a star waitress, not a weak, little old lady.

Because I sure would do this job again, what a delightful party it was, and the food was amazing!

I'd like to see more of Long Island, especially the Hamptons. There wasn't quite enough time to get that far. We did go to Times Square where we posed with one of a dozen or so Elmos walking around. They work for tips and before you know it, you are surrounded by all sorts of characters, each asking for money, even if some weren't in the picture and most weren't asked to be in it. They all crowd in, whether you want them to or not, and then try to get more cash from you. I was a bit taken back by it all, but it was pretty funny to be mobbed by cartoon characters.

I don't think Disneyworld would approve of Minnie Mouse's attitude.

We took a ride up to the top of Rockefeller Center. (Nice venetian plaster on the wall, isn't it?)

I was entranced by the chandelier.

Wouldn't you love to have just one strand from it?

And the lights built into the walls were chunks of crystal with colored lights behind them.

And what a view!

And what nice people we were with. Who knew I'd go all the way to NY just to meet a fellow junker and furniture painter? I enjoyed hanging out with my new friend, Beth.

We ate at Carmine's and I adored the mismatched chandies there too.

The selection of old photos on the wall made me feel right at home. This was my fave.

I've never been a city person, but I sure did love New York.

A sea shell fairy on Jax beach

fairies, family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / February 1, 2016

In the last few years, I've started a tradition of making a sea shell fairy to leave behind as a thank you to every beach that I visit.

Usually,in the days I that I spend along the water, I keep my eyes out for the exact pieces to make the sprite just right. Every stroll in the tides is a chance to gather up the ideal shells. I have a rule that I can't manipulate them. I'm happy to find broken ones in the right shapes, but I never snap off bits myself.

And I like them to be from the shore that I am leaving them on if possible. Sometimes I'll slip a perfectly shaped curl of shell up into my pocket while walking on a nearby beach and save it for the fairy, but that rarely happens.

On this trip, guncle Randy and I only had a short time at the beach (craft day was waiting!!). I wasn't sure if I'd be able to collect what I needed to make a little shell girl that fast, but Randy had a good eye for what we needed and brought me the best wing, ever.

While I was finishing up brushing the sand nice and smooth around our elfin creation, a tiny dog ran up and gave me a kiss. It was a Papillion, so we named the girl after her. You can still see some of the itty bitty dog foot prints she left in the heart shaped ring around the fairy.

Disney time, family time, and lots of books

family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 29, 2016

My Florida trip was not only a much appreciated break from the cold, Kansas winter, it was a family get together, a chance to explore all the theme parks with two life time experts in all things Disney, and I also attended a "writer and reader retreat"

This was something new for me, the event and the genre of novels. My pal, Terry was helping coordinate the workshop, and I offered to tag along and help her out. Her friend, S. E. Smith is the author of fantasy romance and was quite a sweet person to get to know.

I offered to make name tags from white card stock with book covers taken from the author's book jackets.

We clipped them to lanyards and I wrote the names on the blank backs of the mini books. Attendees could use the books to gather autographs from the writers and messages from their friends.

Gifts given out were non-stop, and I was lucky enough to win a couple myself, even though I was just there as a helper, I was treated so kindly, and like one of the group.You won't find a nicer bunch of ladies, anywhere.

There were games too. This is "Hero Bingo" done with the names of the hunks in the novels instead of numbers. I leafed through a lot of books during the writer's signing night, and "hunk" is a very mild term for the magnificent men described in those pages.

STEAMY STUFF!

All of us had gathered at Disney Springs, and when it ended, Terry, her daughter, Holly, and I moved on to stay at Animal Kingdom and a couple of other resorts there at the parks. They had gone in together to join the Disney Vacation Club and were hotel hopping to check out the various places.

How nice of them to invite me along on their mother/daughter trip!! I didn't want to intrude for long, so spent three nights with them, then let them have their own time together for the rest of of the week, while they visited a few more hotels. My three days were ideal from my point of view, and I hope I didn't wear out my welcome.

Our first night was spent at Animal Kingdom, a resort I've always wanted to stay at, and it was even better than I'd thought it would be. We woke up to the sight of an ostrich wandering around outside our balcony, then as the morning went by, all sorts of wildlife sauntered along on the grass below us. Feeding stations are set up in the courtyard to encourage visits, but we noticed that there isn't a lot going on very early in the morning.

If you are going to splurge on the cost of staying there, my advice is to make sure you aren't trying to get to one of the theme parks when it opens, or you'll miss the herds of hungry critters who happen by as the morning develops. We were lingering and leisurely, or we wouldn't have spotted so many creatures throughout the 9-11am period. This is the kind of hotel that is a vacation in itself, and if you stay there, you'll want to make sure you have plenty of time to take advantage of it.

Leisurely was the name of the game, we took our time and didn't feel rushed anywhere we went. Both of these Disney Pros know the ins and outs of where to be and when, what to see and what not to, short cuts, secrets, and were the perfect guides for seeing the parks.

Terry is a season ticket holder for Florida AND California parks. And she lives in Utah. That right there is true Disney love.

I felt as if I'd hired two expert tour guides to show me around. Not to mention, they are both a lot of fun, and we had a wonderful visit.

But the best bonus was having a chance to get to know a far away niece.

As a Vacation Club member, Terry got a lot of perks. Free photo passes, discounts, etc. And she was generous in sharing them. I rarely had my camera out, since there were professional photo stations at every landmark. Plus, I was a little chilly, and kept my gloves on. So it was extra nice to get photos that I didn't have to take myself.

Of course, cold temps are all relative…

In Orlando, I was loving the blooming flowers, while back home in Kansas, there was an ice storm.

I'm certainly NOT complaining about keeping my gloves on!

And who doesn't need an excuse to pick up a pretty, pink, Minnie Mouse hoody? I didn't pack as good as I should have, layers were the key. I ended up with a few wearable souvenirs to pile on.

We found some hidden Mickeys that I can point out to Sugarwings next time we go, too.

I now have so many things to show the grand fairies when we go back.

This trip was so much fun, that coming back again was on my mind the whole time I was there.

Thanks, Holly and Terry for such a perfect vacation! And thank you, Susan for letting me be a part of your workshop.

And another one…I’m smitten with art journals

Books, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 17, 2016

For such a homebody as I am, I sure travel a lot.

And I do love making art journals. Usually, I take one with me to work on while I'm on my explorations, but this book is a special request for someone else.

I'll just betcha that I start one while away on this trip to Florida…

I'd like to reproduce another page like this one, it is a fave of mine.

And I'd enjoy filling out a page like this. My husband and I love to experience local restaurants and trying new dishes.

While making this book, I came up with a lot of things I'd like to have in a book of my own.

So, don't be surprised to see a somewhat repetitive post coming up someday soon, when I show some replications that I make!

Although, since I use so many one of a kind, unique bits of ephemera, no two pieces that I do will ever be exactly the same. I can recreate the hand written doodly things, though.

And I plan on redoing some of these designs for myself.

Vacation art journal pages

Books, family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / November 17, 2015

In my last post, I mentioned my journal obsession. I took two with me on my sister trip and worked on them in front of the view of the ocean. One was a family journal, the other was my travel one. I did as much as I could with instant photos, drawings, doodles, and memorabilia while on the trip, and then finished with printed photos of our time there once I got home.

It helps me to do my "doodle pages" while there, for one thing because I like drawing while we sit and talk and watch the waves. For another, it helps me remember funny little things that happen and write them down.

GEEZER ALERT-I'M GOING TO SOUND CRANKY NOW:

"My Pleasure" was a phrase we all decided we liked. While staying at a fancy hotel, we noticed that employees don't use the annoying term, "no problem" when you say thank you to them. They respond, "my pleasure" or even the good old fashioned, "you're welcome." Which I rarely hear anywhere any more.

We went out for lunch one day, a treat from my husband, and we sent him a text to thank him. He responded "my pleasure" not knowing that was just what we had been talking about.

This silly doodle page is from our Great Flamingo Hunt.

At least that is what it was in my mind.

I saw bright pink birds fly across our beach and Bobbie loves flamingos, so we raced outside to get photos. When we got close we were trying to be sneaky, and I imagined hearing Elmer Fudd singsong "Kill the Wabbitt, Kill the Wabbit".

So, I changed it to "Get the Birwdie" and tromped around like Elmer.

I'm afraid the birds were spoonbills, not flamingos, but it was still a fun hunt.

On every sister trip, I find a photo to turn use as a fairy picture.

This one of Sissy at Venice beach hunting shark teeth looked like a good fairy opportunity too.

I wrote the word, "blessings" under the photo of her handful of teeth, because that was what was inscribed on her gold band, and also the day was filled with the blessings of being with my sisses.

An actual tooth was glued to the banner I added.

More teeth and a small shell were glued to an instant photo of the day, I saved the label from a coke I'd bought (Nathan!), and added a picture of one of our matching shirts.

All of it was done over the text of the book page, that I'd dry brushed paint onto. But none of it was planned and it all looked off balance, so I drew in a shark behind it all to tie it together.

My art journals are a mix. I use photos of the trip, scraps of things I've picked up along the way, (brochures, coasters, hotel soap wrappers, tickets, etc), doo dads, charms, flowers, lace, drawings,and some pages are just for fun, like this one.

The book itself is one of the altered book kits I have in the Boutique, including card stock pages printed with old text scanned from vintage horoscope and fortune telling books. They made an interesting background for an October journal.

This little Witchy Girl was in the kit, but I added the shells and some dragonfly wings from one of the ginormus dragonflies that dwelled in the area. They were as large as helicopters.

You might notice that when I scrapbook, I don't care if things are acid free. I doubt if wings plucked from a dead bug would qualify as being archival quality.

Here is an example of using a hotel room coaster in my book. It is simply attached with washi tape on the outside and again on the inside to make a hinge.

(the picture above is doctored up by Bobbie, she changed three of the hags into the three of us)

The coaster opens up to hold a cartoon of three witches that Bobbie brought, and a picture of the three of us as witches too.

Have you seen the rainbow film available at Michaels for instant cameras? It makes for a nice change from the white framed pictures. I thought these colors were pretty with the vintage Florida postcard I'd picked up on one of our antiquing outings. Above that is some coordinating washi tape as a border and an old, ribbon flower wreath as a frame for a cut out picture of Bobbie.

I rubbed a pink ink pad over the edges of the paper to tie in all the soft colors.

A couple more of the rainbow instant pictures went into the last page of the book. The grand fairies posed for me as I was trying out the film.

And Sugarwings made this "bye bye" card for me as a farewell for the trip, so that is what their pictures went into.

Another item I used from the vacation was the tissue paper from a shopping bag, glued down as a background.

This page features photos Bobbie brought of our grandma's trailer on Bee Ridge Rd, Sarasota. The old book that I'd brought with me to tear up and use in the journal, had this little story about a sea shell "home" in it and I thought that went along nicely with the trailer pictures.

More things I saved were the key card holder from the Pink Palace, and the wrist band we were given there to use the resort facilities.

Some pictures, I like to cut out the person, other times I like to save the backgrounds. A nice mix is what I go for.

I'd preferred it if the Pink Palace had more PINK goodies for me to use, but on the other hand, the orange and black were perfectly fine considering I was doing a Halloween inspired album, right?

Since I had turned around and went on another trip as soon as I got home from this one, I included both in the same journal.

Especially since both looked great together with the Halloween theme I had going.

Last year's travel journal was similar, I'd gone from a beach vacation with my sisses straight to Vermont for the the Guncles' wedding. (There was no trip home in between for that one, and I can tell you, that the packing wasn't easy for such varied weather!)

We have already booked our condo on Siesta Sands for next year, looks like this Sister Trip is going to become an annual thing. And it looks like I'll be starting a collection of travel books for our visits!

Siesta Sands Sister Trip

family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / November 12, 2015

The condo we had on the beach at Siesta Sands had a huge picture window over looking the Gulf, with a craft table in front of it.

Well, we also were able to squeeze in a bit of dining at the table too. But I kind of over took it for my art journal.

Now, I really, really, really love my studio at home.

But I discovered that I feel a ton more creative with this view while I am working!

Siesta Sands is a very old, cement block building right on the prettiest beach you'll ever see. Siesta Key always ranks high on any USA travel advisor, and there is a reason. The sand is white quartz and always cool to the touch, it is pure powdered sugar.

My grandma lived in the area when I was a kid and I grew up visiting here.

I became a beach snob very young. I thought all beaches were covered in sand that you could add some butter to and turn it into icing.

But I do have an appreciation for all beaches, and we always love to go to the rough and rocky Venice beach to search for shark teeth fossils while we are in the area.

It was actually a bit warmer there than 40 minutes north in Sarasota, so I was able to do a little more swimming in Venice. (yes that is 57 year old me in a swimsuit on the internet. Do I have no shame or vanity? Guess not)

Plus Venice has some cute shops. Not many open on Sunday when we went, but still fun.

These are the shirts I gifted my sisters with.

(And this was my view for a lot of the week, I was always a few yards ahead of them every where we went.)

Matching gifts were in abundance!

Sissy gave us rainbow moonstones with a sand dollar in silver.

And these mermaid shirts that we added glitter to.

While out one day, someone asked us if these were from a foundation. I said of course, and asked if they'd like to donate, that we were the founding members!

Bobbie gave us photo mugs in memory of our dad and last year's trip to spread his ashes.

I'd made us some art journals to fill up with our adventures.

And we got pretty rainbow quartz stones from Sis.

Each of us brought things to add to the journals, here is a witchy picture Bobbie doctored up and added us to.

But the best gift?

Having these ladies as sisters and best friends.

I love you, Bobbie and Sissy!

Siesta Sands Mermaid

fairies, family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / November 9, 2015

Last year's "First Annual Sister Trip to Siesta Key" was to spread our father's ashes on his favorite beach. We found the perfect, heart shaped shell, filled it with his ashes, and took it out to the sandbar to float away.

So, when I saw this little butterfly shell on the beach, I thought it was ideal to use to recreate the moment by filling it with glitter and crystals in memory of Daddy.

Instead of a fairy, I made a mermaid, but of course, she did end up with wings. There was a dead dragonfly right by where I made her, so I plucked off it's wings. Gross to do, but I like the look…

Sissy and I knew that our sentimental sister, Bobbie, would want to keep this one, since it was in honor of our Dad. Usually I leave the fairies on the beach the last day of my trip as a farewell and a thank you.

This time, though, I created an environment for her and glued her together into a sea shell home. (Minus the wings, which would just rot. And who knows what the seaweed will do?)

I guess that means I owe Siesta Key a fairy…. durn, I'll just have to go back again, huh?