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Actually, I'm all out of Miss Frenchie photos! But here are a few more from the studio redo:

I'm just so glad to have the room all spankin clean and refoofed! I'm ready to dive in and get to work.  Compare the studio to  this shot of my basement. No, celler- basement is too classy of a term for this hole under my house! And I'm sure you'll understand why I'd rather just keep working on my studio instead of going down to the home of giant spiders and dank smells under  the stairs when the sirens go off around here!

There are worse things than being blown away.

Thank you for all of your well wishes for getting over my crud.  Luckily, I was up and back in the land of the living today, because it was the last puppy's last day with us.  I'll be feeling pretty lousy again tomorrow, but it won't be a cough and cold this time.  My heart will be breaking. Its going to be so hard to see the baby leave us!

Its not just me, either.  Sugarwings isn't going to understand when the baby she calls "My Millwee" is gone.  Our day started with her climbing in bed with me, and bringing the pup along with her.

Seems like every step she took today, was with My Millwee in her arms.

Even when she put the baby down, she laid down with her.  Right on the dog's pillow by the wood stove.

What a stroke of good luck we had that this last day,  was a burst of springtime sunshine and just gorgeous! We played outside, and of course, the pup was in her arms for most of it.

When the pup's little feet did touch the ground, she ran right after her buddy and waited to be picked up again.

As if Millie didn't get enough kisses, Sugarwings had to blow kisses to her too.

We enjoyed this gift of false springtime as long as we could and stayed outside till dark.

How could I resist this face during bath time?  Her big, blue eyes wouldn't leave the dog, so of course…

I couldn't keep them apart! 

Everybody got toweled off and cozy.

And now, for a little bit of snuggling and watching a DVD before bed.

We'll miss you, Millie! 

On a cheerier note, I finally (25 days late) pulled together something for the February giveaway.  All comments all month count toward the drawing for these earrings made with vintage beads.

Also, I am 3 posts away from #500, so there will be a little giftie for that one too!

Edited note:  Oh, my gosh! Thank you, to all who came by and ordered from the new store already!  I will add more vintage floral packages in the next couple of days, and  I have added two more Tag Book Kits and two more Bingo card sets, in case those were out when you checked in.

You knew I was going to do this eventually, right?  I love puppies, I love hats, the two had to be together sooner or later!!

Aren't the little cuties getting BIG?  When they were born, they didn't even fill up a hand.  Now look at the size of this little princess!!!

I have to admit, they are not easy to photograph.  95% of my pictures are a blur. Anyone have tips on taking pet pictures?  Of wriggling little pets?

And guess what????  I did it!!! I figured out the problem with my website and have it open and ready to shop in.  I'll be adding a button back to the side of my blog, just click on this picture (on the right hand side bar)  to enter "The Boutique at Karla's Cottage."

As a thank you for coming by to visit, the first ten shoppers will receive a vintage valentine in their package.

Please, let me know what you think of the site, if you get a chance.

And don't forget, I do have a January giveaway present for you all comments on this blog, all  month, are entered.

I will leave you with some photos of the inventory I am featuring in my brand spanking new web shop.

Yesterday, the Miss Frenchie's group had a meeting at Mission Road Antique mall. One of our members is Gwen, who has a booth at the mall, so I thought I'd show some of her wares.  She travels to France to buy her inventory, and has a great eye, this is some GORGEOUS STUFF!!

The meeting was productive, as well as entertaining.  Our luncheon turned into almost 3 hours of chatting. As much as I love my little fairy grand baby,  my family, and my studio, it was nice to get out, be in a lovely setting and talk about interesting topics that didn't include kiddie activities.  Even grammies need days out sometimes. 

Plus, these women are smart, professional, and creative.  Besides business plans for the April in Paris show we are working on, design, blogs, magazines and interiors were talked about.  Carol can quote the Wall Street Journal about business, and Debbie is sharp as a tack about colors and well, just about anything in retail and design.  While hitting other subjects of interest, we still managed to stay on track and discuss what we were there to talk about, Miss Frenchie.

 I've been president of our local art guild in the past, and I have to tell you, keeping creative people focused on  the subject isn't easy. But I was impressed with this group and the way we had a good time, but still got business done.  Deb took on a leadership role and handled it all well.

From what everyone had to say, I can promise that this next sale will be a wowzer.  More vendors, more time for preparing, more visual va-voom for each booth!  And I thought the LAST one was spectacular.  I just can't wait till the next one!

This cabinet was making me wish I hadn't spent all my money on Christmas gifts.  It would look perfect in my studio…. What a yummy blue interior.   Gwen's stuff is always yummy.

There is something about this time of year that has me wanting to redo, fix up, change my house.  Partially it is from being cooped up inside and seeing the same view over and over.  Also, having all the glitz and glitter of the holiday decorations, makes the house seem more special and when they are gone, everything seems a little more dull.

Right now, I am housebound, hanging out with Twinkle  and waiting for puppies. She and I slept in the living room so I could check on her every hour and sleep with the light on, but not disturb my husband.  That poor dog is past her guesstimated semi-calculated due date and I can tell she is ready.  So, I am using "our" confinement time to read, be lazy and kick back.

Beth loaned me "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio" and I am loving it.   I just finished two books by Jennifer Weiner and one by Sophie Kinsella.  Why can't my favorite authors be more prolific??? I am all out of their books now and who knows how long I'll have to wait till a new one is out?

We have a fire going in the wood stove, I am going to make a pot of soup and go cuddle up with my fuzzy baby who just isn't feeling well and read the rest of my book.   We thought she was in labor last night, and was once again pretty restless.  Or was that because I was checking on her every hour and the poor thing got no rest?

Wish us luck. I hope that next time you hear from me, I'll have puppy photos to show you!

Well, I might have recovered from Miss Frenchie's sale now!  I've had a lovely, relaxing afternoon of touring holiday homes with friends, and going to a movie. Plus a book signing by another friend, who does the most amazing work.

Have you seen this book yet? It was named by the New York Times as one of the top illustrated children's books of the year. Its written by Stephen Johnson, a multi talented artist who has a whimsical twinkle in his eye.  I always enjoy seeing him at parties, he has a way of making conversations go in odd little directions that are a lot of fun. 

 A typical question from him over the wine and cheese at an art opening or cocktail party goes like this- "Have you thought much about polka dots lately?".  Not your typical topic, but somehow it was an interesting one that stuck with me long after it was over. Who knew that a group of us had so much to say about a simple little polka dot?

Here is a sample of his book, I bought a copy for the fairy grand baby.  Its quite unique and totally Stephen!  Lots of quirky thought went into it (along with talent.) Sorry about the bad photos.  I'll bet that even if I did have that Canon Rebel I am jonesing for, the bad lighting at my house at night would still make for bad pictures. At least, that is what I am telling myself.

As Miss Frenchie's sale wound down, I managed to do a little shopping for myself from the other vendors.  (more bad lighting, more bad photos, more apologizing)

The doll is from Beth, she had a shelf full of these beauties! The "crown" bowl was from Carol, French post cards from Gwen, and the ornament was made by Julie.  I'd never met Julie before and didn't know much about her. We were all admiring her work (she knits too, and had one of a kind scarves). Someone asked her if she got the center medallions for the ornaments at Michaels, and she said, no, she made them. 

Gwen said, "but I've seen these at Michaels".  And Julie explained that she DESIGNED them for K & Company and Michaels sells them!! 

I feel like I've been runnin with the big dogs this weekend!

Here is a photo of her ornies.  She sold out completely, the first night, then brought in more for Saturday, just to sell out right away again.  I was lucky to get one. 

Julie was just one of the interesting people at Miss Frenchie's.  I was thrilled to be part of the group that came together for this show.

Elizabeth was a whirlwind of energy, and  manages to look beautiful the whole time.  She drove in from St. Louis with a giant rented truck filled with jaw dropping goods, stayed up all night transforming the barn.  All while looking like she was posing for a magazine herself, as she was busily taking photos for an article for Romantic Homes. (yes, hopefully we'll be hearing about Miss Frenchie in one of our favorite magazines!)

She had great displays, plenty to drool over. I eyed one of her small side tables all weekend, then when it was still there at the end of the sale, I ended up giving in tomy longings and buying it for myself as a souvenier of the event. I'll get pictures of it as soon as I figure out where to use it.  I might put my Christmas tree on it for now.  Although, putting the tree up on a table will just tempt Miss Sugarwings to climb up to get it.  My tree might be more stable sitting on the ground for her to pluck pretties off of. 

Bethhas an interesting post about Miss Frenchie's.  She sums it up well, explaining that part of the joy of the whole weekend was that people "got it".  These fellow vendors and the shoppers there understood why Elizabeth scattered book pages around the floor of her area.  Although, Gwen's sweet little mom was pretty cute trying to sweep them all up!

And everyone "got it" that old starched collars looked great hanging from a chandelier.

Of all the booths, mine was the tamest.  It looked more like a craft fair booth than a super dooper Miss Frenchie celebration display.  I knew it going in, and felt a bit down about it, but dealt the hand I had. Or is it played the hand I had? Speaking of cards, Beth did mention that I don't exactly have a good poker face and she knew I was unhappy with my booth. 

But all day today, I have been daydreaming about April and our next show…. I plan on having a spot that makes me look like I can keep up with those big dogs I am running with!  

Or playing poker with. The way I am mixing metaphors, who knows what I am talking about.

Any way, I want to thank all those style mavens who made up Miss Frenchie's group and say once again how honored I was to be a part of it all.  Wow, these gals can verve a booth!

Thanks to:

French By Design
Sisters and Partners – Gwen McClure and Teri Elliott
Featured at Mission Road Antique Mall

Elizabeth Maxson, formerly of Elizabeth House, St. Louis
Designer, Stylist, Photographer
Contributing editor, Romantic Homes magazine
Website: elizabethhouse.us

Yesterday, I had a few friends over for crafting. Shawn brought these wonderful treats, her homemade marshmallows. She also brought a pot of Italian Wedding Soup.  I wonder if I could get her to drop by a couple days a week with goodies like that if I planned more craft days……

This is Shawn with her sweet little girl, Bethany, who made lots of things as gifts for all of us throughout the day. (like the tag necklace her mom is wearing)

Sugarwings was there for most of the day too, but she was an overwhelming force of nature. I was so busy chasing her that I wasn’t able to get the camera out till after she had left in the afternoon, I was worn to a frazzle by her antics.

I told the other bloggers that were here that I wouldn’t be surprised to read on their blogs today: "The truth about Sugarwings and what really goes on at Karla’s Cottage". 

Shawn is wearing a tiara I gave to her, she will be wearing it for Silver Bella, because she offered to drive up from Kansas City to help me with my booth!! How sweet of her, I am so relieved to have someone help me schlep all the junk from the truck and (hopefully) wrap up the packages as things (hopefully) sell.

Beth and Shawn both brought their Cuddlebugs and I was able to emboss and ink a bunch of tags then add vintage ribbons and crown stamps to them.

That was a simple project that I could do while tending to the tiny, two year old hurricane that was ripping through the studio all day. 

Beth was in a similar frame of mind, we were doing mindless work, of wrapping up packages of things.  She was getting ready for a sale she will be setting up next month and wanted these packs of pretty colored old tags ready for that.

Beth wrapped up ribbon to sell too.  It was just a good day to sit and talk and put things together. 

I’ve been looking around for a crown stamp that I liked and had no luck. Shawn had one with her and I used it on some parchment card stock sprayed with glimmer mist to make these small, square tags.  I was just going to make some to use on packages, but they came out so cute, I decided to bring some to Silver Bella to sell at my booth. I wish I had used the dotted Swiss Cuddlebug embossing plate more, it is my favorite one.

Marilyn and Shawn both got some Halloween pieces made, Marilyn was working on a book, and Shawn was making ATCs

Look at what they brought as gifts for all of us!  Marilyn is also a quilter and she made this patchwork scrapbook, filled with wonderful papers, and Shawn gifted everyone with a "Fright Night" collage.

Today, I am putting aside Silverbella packing and babysitting and being social to do some "real" artwork. Well, at least I hope it turns out good enough to be called real art!

I have a deadline to get a watercolor still life done for a show I am supposed to be entering.  So, I’m off to paint a pear.

ps- Since I haven’t been adding new things to the Etsy shop much due to other committments, I decided to at least mark some stuff down.  Check HERE for sale prices. I hope to add more to the shop this weekend. Well HOPE to at least! Thanks so much for shopping there!

My website- The Boutique at Karla’s Cottage

My Etsy Shop- Karla’s Etsy Shop

Tutorials- Romantic White Christmas and Romantic Gothic Ghosts

Mini Dress Forms

Wire nests, crowns, and wreaths

Cuff bracelets

My Flickr Site- Karlascottage

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My best bud and crafting companion:

Beth Leintz of Gathering Dust

A fun friend full of ideas:

 Carol Spinski of Raised in Cotton 

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Teaching venues 2011: 

Bird Song

Once Upon A Dream

Paper Cowgirls 

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Attendees at Bird Song, a nature inspired art weekend at my studio:

Teachers:  Carol, Debbie, Lisa, and myself.

Bird Song Sponsors

• Beth Leintz- Gathering Dust
• Celeste at the Victorian Tailer
• Dawn at the Feathered Nest
• Dee Waddell at JoDees
• Heidi at Sugah Beez
• Hope Ellington at Vintage Whimsy
• Karla at Cut from a Different Cloth
• Kay Ellen Hammer
• Lisa McIlvain at Tarnished and Tattered
• Lonnie Jenks at My Farmgirl Life
• Lynn at Create… Btreathe
• Miss Sandy at Quill Cottage
• Mitzi at Mitzi’s Collectables

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My East Coast buddy:  Robin at Thrifty Miss Priss and the group from the Blogger’s Day out in Leesburg:

       Hope from Paper Relics
Beth from Gathering Dust
Stephenie from Just a Little Bit Pink
Robin from Thrifty Miss Priss
Jessica from Such Pretty Things
Pamela from Pamela Janes Studio

Amy from Inspire Company
Heather from Pretty Petals
Andrea from Everyday Beauty

While in Leesburg, we got to meet the GRAPHICS FAIRY  herself!!

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Admirable Editors I have  enjoyed working with:

Barbara Jacksier

http://fabulousfifi.typepad.com/

http://jennydoh.typepad.com/

Gloria Gale

Jana Holstein

Christen Olizarez

Beth Livesay

Amanda Crabtree

Jennifer Jackson

   (an article for Harris Publications)

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Blog Friends who have come to visit me at my cottage:

Andrea

Jenn

Lisa

Lori

Jessi

Kim

Cheryl

Stacy

Lonnie

Heather

Natasha

Suzanne

Carol 

Debbie

Of Bluebirds and Roses

http://marilynbutler.blogspot.com/ 

http://www.bonoramamama.blogspot.com/

Hope at Vintage Whimsy

Rachel at Rach-ology

Laurie at Indulge your shelf

Stephanie at Crowns and Pearls

Lisa at A Peaceful Place to Be

Linda at Desires of the Heart

(the Glitter Lounge, at Silver Bella)

And when we go to Silver Bella, we always visit  Marilyn at Wallpaper Heaven (otherwise known as Hannahs Treasures.

Marilou at Lulus’s Lovelies *************************************************************************************************************************

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There are so many wonderful blogs out there to enjoy! Would you like to trade links so we can tell our readers about each other?

http://www.livelaughlovely.com:80/

http://www.theredbulletinboard.blogspot.com:80/– Jenny

http://www.lifeinmystudio.blogspot.com:80/– Debi

http://www.songbirdisnesting.blogspot.com/– Marianne

http://www.missmollycottage.blogspot.com/– Angela

http://vintagerosedesigns.blogspot.com:80/– Sonia

http://www.more-than-heirlooms.blogspot.com/– Myrna

http://thepottingshed-anythinggoeshere.blogspot.com/  Joann

http://wwwdesiresoftheheart.blogspot.com/– Linda

http://www.opulentcottage.typepad.com/– Andrea

http://www.vintiquitiesworkshop.blogspot.com

http://mitziscollectibles.typepad.com/ 

Jamie

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Creations from Romantic White Christmas

Amy’s Mitten

Andrea’s wreath

Dorthe’s Mitten

Ginger’s tree topper

Lisa used the boot pattern to make a fiber art piece!

Cami made up quite a few and used the projects as winter decor, not for Christmas

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Local Lawrence, KS Art and shopping

Please click here to return to Karla’s Cottage blog.

The new issue of Romantic Country is on the stands now and looks like a really pretty one.  I can’t wait to make time to sit down and savor it. Especially the article about the Rachael Ashwell’s new Shabby Chic home. I’m intrigued by that. 

But, life has been hectic the last couple of days, so I haven’t had a chance to do more than look and see if my article was in it or not!

And, yep, there we are, Carol and I are in there.  She has made the most wonderful projects for the pictures, and we will be having a giveaway with one of her ideas coming up soon.

Stay tuned for details! 

By the way, just LOOK at all the blogger friends listed in the credits.

And did you also notice Diane Guthrie in the photo credits? She is a great pal, and my family and I met up with her this weekend for a bit of  "agri-tourism" at a local winery.

Diane was doing a photo shoot for New Holland Tractors and needed some models to pick grapes for the day.

So, here we are, the newest tractor pin-up girls, soon to be plastered on barn walls on farms everywhere.

Diane was sweet to take some extra photos of the 4 of us, my two sisses and niece, so we have some professional quality photos of all of us together.

I think that back in the 70’s my sisters and I went to have our portraits done  together, but not since then.  This will be a nice one to frame and keep.   It is so  much better than going to a portrait studio, this picture will be full of memories of our fun weekend together.

Our morning at the winery started out foggy.  (by the way, these are now my photos, not Diane’s, but I am sure you could tell that).

The atmosphere was moody and romantic.

But I am afraid that once the novelty wore off and the fog burned away to become hot sun, we are the ones who became moody.

This wasn’t just playing, we actually had to work!!

We picked grapes for HOURS.  It was kind of fun and we had a great day over all, but it went on tooooo long. 

Still, it was an experience that was worth having, and I am glad we went.  I felt a bit bad about making my family be migrant workers for one of their vacation days, though.

Once lunch was served, we started to feel much better and quite pampered. The food was the best!

How can you feel grumpy when there is an all you can eat hand made chocolate buffet?

We were given little boxes of wine infused chocolates to take home (made by Sleepy Jean and absolutely, melt in your mouth, delicious!)

The company was good too.  This is Moofy, he picked up anything left lying around, water bottles, coffee cups, etc. and put them all in a pile by the house.  I wish I could train Twinks to pick up trash instead of trashing things!

After lunch, we met Sugarwings downtown for a quick carousel ride on the horsies in front of the Lawrence Antique Mall, where I just had to pop in and do a quick hat hunt.

Jackpot!  I found a fall colored rose strewn hat and have already ransacked it for the flowers.

Hmm, the creature on top didn’t come with the hat, he is a tomato worm that Bobbie Sue made from Sculpy.

We ended our day by sitting in the studio and making creatures from sculpy.

I whipped up a "flight" of fairies.  These are babies, newly hatching from their cocoons and are tucked into another hat I found this weekend.

Poor fairy babies, they don’t look too pleased to have a changeling in their nest!

Today, was back to work, the family is gone now.  So, I plucked the new (old) hat clean of its roses and listed them in Autumn craft packs on Etsy.

There is a total of 4 packs, just in time for you to make some Halloween finery for yourself.

And now, I need to get back to work again.  Silverbella is looming over me, I need to get ready!

check back with me in the next couple of days and I will have the Raised in Cotton & Karla’s Cottage Romantic Country Inspired Giveaway ready for you to see. 

Well, my family is left, on their way back to Indiana and it seems pretty quiet and lonely around here, with them gone. We had such a fun visit,  I don’t even know where to start, junking day and my new vintage gown and pile of hats? Renfest and Sugarwings dancing with fairies? Grape picking at a local winery? Sculpy night and the fairies we created?

How about Sugarwings and her favorite part of the Renfest? She adored this dragon and talked about him all day.

All of us loved the festival.  Sissy really got into the spirit of it by dressing as a fairy.  I was inspired by her and had to put on a pair of wings myself.  All I had was a tiny pair that the fairy grand baby loaned to me, so I added a vintage rose and some rhinestones  to them to give them more oomph.

And I also followed Sissy’s lead and added a bird to my garland.

When our little one saw the birds, she had to have one on her head too.

Her daddy learned how to do magic tricks with an orb. 

And we got to meet lots of real live fairies.

One of my favorite things was the dance of the fairies.

Our little sprite couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t supposed to be a part of the act.

When volunteers were asked to come up from the audience and join in, of course, Sugarwings was the first one up there.

She did her special dance, that looks like a marionette flying through the air, we couldn’t tell if her feet ever touched the ground during the performance. And of course, all of our group agreed that she stole the show from the other fairies.      

Durning dance, Sugarwings met some kindred spirits.  The only thing cuter than a little toddler fairy is a whole pack of them. Or do fairies come in packs?  Flocks? That sounds better.