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Today, I made a get well card with a fairy portrait for a little girl who is having spinal surgery this week.  I wrapped up one of my Grumpy Fairy books as a gift for her too.  She's 10, but I think she still likes fairies. Heck, I'm almost 52, and I sure like them.

Their eyes aren't open yet and that worries Sugarwings. I caught her taking a blue marker, preparing to draw eyes on one of the pups to help them out. 

Sparkle has been hanging out with me a bit more than usual since Twinkle has her paws full.  Normally, Sparkle spends her time on a pillow with Bookie, both are elderly. She is blind and mostly deaf, so isn't too adventurous, but this time of year makes her feel young again, and she's happy to be outdoors sniffing around while I do yard work.

Spring makes me feel younger too, until AFTER I'm done with the yard work. My aches and pains let me know that the youthful feeling was just an illusion. About now, I'm wishing I could crawl up on that pillow with the old dogs.

We've had some drama today.  We hired (and gave a down payment to) some tree trimmers.  Well, weeks later, no work was done.

They finally showed up last week, and trimmed this tree down to one limb. Trouble is, that is the limb that hangs precariously over our roof, the one branch we wanted gone before the next storm did it for us.

They have not been back, but the sheriff and the guy who owns the equipment they left here came to see us today.

It all ended OK (so far), with my husband (on the left) hiring the lift's owner to help him finish that branch the tree guys left.   My husband loves to play with his chain saw.  This is new though, he's never taken out a branch over our cottage, normally, he cuts firewood out in the Fairy Forest.  I'm terrified of the whole process, heights and chain saws both are big on my list of things to avoid at all costs.

But, I'm lucky they don't frighten him, this tree needs to be fixed and we are already out a few hundred bucks.  But a little fear wouldn't hurt him, he worries me up there. I over heard the lift operator call him a mad man. 

I own a small hedge trimmer that is battery powered and can hack away at shrubs and small branches with that myself, but always feel like I am in danger while doing it.  There is no way I'd pick up a chain saw.   I've been known to cut through the cord of my trimmer more than once.  Imagine the damage I could do with a real weapon like a chain saw!

Around town, lilacs are blooming in a magnificent way.  This is the best year I can remember for them.  My own plants are bursting, for the first time in the 20 some years we have lived here.  I kind of thought our old bush was done for, but this year it surprised me.

Its been a productive day, I've wrapped packages of purchases from the Boutique, done a little fairy picture, some yard work, and dealt the sheriff.  Not only that, I got some new items listed in the shop too.

There are a few Peat Pot Fairies in there, as well as some kits to make your own. 

Or you could just sign up as a follower on Google Friend Connect and be entered to win one...

Right now, I'm going to go out and make sure my husband and his chain saw are still doing well.  And the roof of my house.

If all is safe, I'm going to get a few more things listed, that is unless I've curled up on that pillow with the old dogs to recuperate from the yard work.

I'll leave you with some pictures of what's new.

The snow and cold are starting to get to me.  Even though we aren't snowed in anymore, the cold itself seems to be freezing my spirit and slowing me down.  This week between Christmas and New Years has such a feeling of limbo to it anyway, with the cold added, I'm kind of out of it and need to get re-focused.   Maybe a good shopping trip is what I need? Some fun, new junk to play with? I feel like I've overdosed on NEW stuff from shopping too much at real stores instead of junk shops and antique malls while buying my family's Christmas gifts.

I did pop into the Lawrence Antique Mall while downtown on the 23rd to pick up a gift certificate, and found this little girl's gorgeous gown for $18! It came with a full slip too, very lacy and lovely.  I can't wait for Sugarwings to wear it!

Or maybe I need to throw a craft day?  My studio is overflowing, so shopping therapy probably is not as smart as craft therapy.  Maybe if I invited some arty buddies over, I could get myself moving. 

Or I could just get my butt in gear and take down some of the Christmas decor and put it away. Then start on taxes.  YUCK! No wonder I don't want to do anything, the stuff that I need to get done is NOT FUN.

Plus, I think I'll leave up my holiday decor for just a bit longer. I got it up late and would like to enjoy it a while.

As a matter of fact, I just hung these snow flakes today!  They are the ones I made from hand crocheted medallions from my late, great, Aunt Caroline.  I mixed a half cup of liquid starch with a hand full of fine glitter, soaked the "snowflakes" in that, then spread them to dry. After they dried, I added some embellishments of millinery, pearls, or crystals to some.

Hmm, I'm thinking calling on my friends for a craft day AND doing some shopping will help. If you need some shopping therapy, please don't forget that I have my Boutique and Etsy shops half price until January first!

 
Here's how the sale works:

1- If you see something you want in the shops, go ahead and pay with Pay Pal like normal. I'll refund your 50% discount.

2- If you need to pay by check, contact me for an invoice and I'll mark your purchases sold before someone else nabs your bargains.

3- If you buy from both shops, I'll combine shipping and send you a postage refund for the extra.

4- Sometimes, multiple purchases from my boutique can cause shipping to go sky high. Don't worry, if it grows too much, I'll refund the overpayment.   If I knew a better way to reset the shipping charges, I'd do it. 90% of the time its fine, but sometimes it seems outrageous. But then, I'm a pretty thrifty shopper myself, so get scared off by some of the shipping charges I see online!

By the way, CAN you get to my shop??? A friend says she cannot open it.  Please, please, let me know if you have issues with it!! Thanks!

Feel free to copy this old card and print it if you'd like to use it in your projects!

Jessi is
having her annual cookie party, but I am busy with Miss Frenchie's
Holiday Broncante this weekend and couldn't bake any cookies! So, green
living recycler that I am, I decided to recycle an older post about some
hand painted cookies. Complete with a baby picture of my Sugarwings, with a big smile on her tiny little face.

Thanks for hosting, Jessi! I'm pre-posting this, since I'll be busy setting up the sale while the party is going on, but I look forward to blog hopping and reading about all the cookie party stories when I get back. That is one of the joys of a virtual party, it never ends!

Which reminds me, I've been thinking about hosting another "What do you LOVE about your Holiday Home?" What do you think? 

Sugarwings Sugarcookies

You add food coloring to clear Karo Corn syrup to make your "paint".

I used coffee stir sticks to mix the colors.

After baking a batch of sugar cookies, I spread white canned icing on one at a time as I was ready to paint them.  If you ice them ahead of time, the icing sets up too hard to paint on.

I dipped a brand new paint brush into the food coloring and started to paint.

For a rose, I used the red food coloring in the clear syrup, and
swirled it around, mixing it with the icing itself, which made some
areas pink.  I went back with a dot of red on my brush to add a center
of the rose.

Using the green and yellow colors, I added leaves and vines.

On some cookies, I used colored sugar sprinkles on the edges. (that also needs to be done while the icing is still soft, not set up)

Keep a glass of warm water handy to rinse the brush out often, it will get clogged up with globs of icing.

After rinsing, make sure you dab off all excess water before dipping into the paint again.

You can also paint direcly onto the cookie, without icing, for  a different look.

I start with the lightest colors first, and add darker ones as I go. 

When you are finished painting, colored sugar lightly sprinkled onto
the cookie is a pretty touch, a little like adding the glitter to a
collage project! 

I didn't have a butterfly cookie cutter, so I free handed the shape
with a knife and cut it out of the dough. I suggest using a cookie
cutter instead!!!!

I like to store my painted

cookies under a glass cake dome, but
before I do, I let them air dry for a couple of hours at least so they
don't stick together.

Ahhhhh, wallpaper heaven!

Here is a small selection of what I bought there. I might have gotten carried away….

But honestly, I'm pretty impressed with my restraint! 

With a selection like this, I could have mortgaged my house and still not gotten all that I wanted!  Sadly, my husband doesn't agree with me on the value of old papers, so I had to stick with my budget…  Its a good thing Marilyn doesn't have an ATM handy, I'd be like those sad and twisted gamblers in Vegas, draining their bank accounts to the very last drop.

Look at this gorgeous one that Tiffany found!!  Can you imagine the home that one might have gone in?  Often, I look at old wallpapers and think they'd be a bit much in a room, but this one would be a room I'd love to live in.

One of the best parts about going there is the looks on the faces of vintage paper lovers when they first walk in. Since I'd visited there before, I went in first to capture the expressions of my pals.  Lori, Jenn, and Suzanne were as overwhelmed with Wallpaper Joy as I knew they'd be!

Look at Robin's grin as Marilyn tells her about the paper.  Marilyn is so knowledgeable about her inventory, I wished I had more time to talk paper with her.   Some day, I'd like to drive up to Iowa to take her out to lunch and just sit and talk all about old papers.  She seems like a very interesting person. I'm betting I can get Beth to take a road trip with me….

Luncheon talk with people who have similar interests is always fascinating.  A group of us went out to lunch before leaving Omaha on Sunday and a topic I brought up was movies you watch just for the houses and decor in them.  Its something I think about a lot, and I was so happy to hear everyone chiming in with their favorites and to know that I am not the only one who watches wallpaper and upholstery fabric instead of the actors sometimes!

1.  Far from Heaven (Julianne Moore's bedroom is beautiful, but in this movie, all of the scenes have gorgeous furnishings)
2.  Practical Magic!!!  (every detail of that house is over the top, perfect) 
3. Atonement (the cabbage rose fabric and the genteel, faded elegance- wow!)
4.  This one I just saw a couple days ago- Revolutionary Road– but only the neighbor's bedroom, not Kate Winslet's home.
5. What Lies Beneath (if your husband is going to drown you, don't you want it to be in that bathroom?)

Oh, there are plenty more, of course. Amy Powers says she likes old Doris Day movies just for the backgrounds and the clothes. And who can forget Mad Men?  I'd watch that just for Betty's dresses. 

The best dresses ever were in Wicked!  I wanted to dance away in every single thing that Glinda the Good wore.  Of course, at my age, it wouldn't have quite the same look on me…

Sugarwing's mommy and I went to see this last night and I can't get my mind off of those glittering gowns and the glorious visuals.   Plus, I wouldn't mind a bubble to travel around in either.

I'd never been to Kansas City's revamped Power and Light District and was so impressed with the whole area.  And also with how many people were out and about on a Wednesday night, too.  Kansas City has a lot to offer and at much better prices than other cities I've been to recently. On our trip to Chicago, we spent $40 in parking for one night! $20 for the restaurant, and $20 for the concert! Guess what it was in KC?

Take that, Chicago!

I just wish I could have taken Sugarwings with me to see the Wicked Witch.  She'd have loved the show.

Between taking my husband to KC to the airport in the morning (almost an hour there, then an hour back) then going to BACK to KC for dinner and the play, I managed to get some photos taken and things listed in the shop.

I will be ironing and cutting the wallpaper, thanks for all your inquiries! Today is my day for that and for glittering more trees.  I'll announce when they are listed. In the meantime, here are a few photos of my recent additions.

If you are ever wondering when the perfect time to visit the beach in Jacksonville is,  I think I've discovered the answer.   Late October, midweek, mornings are PERFECT!

The water was just the right temperature, there was a gentle breeze.  The sand was warm, but was comfy, no running tip toe and trying to keep my feet from frying like I have to do when I been on it in the summer.

Plus, we were just about the only people there.  Sugarwings called it "her beach".  

The only company we had was from these guys.

Because the beach was so bare, we could let our fairy fly free, and she ran up and down the beach pretending to be a bird, with no worries of kicking up sand on others or stepping on sand castles. (or being hard to keep track of, we couldn't miss her, she was the only thing out there!)

She found balloons that had washed up on the shore, and you'd have thought that it was Christmas morning.  Little gifts can sometimes bring the most joy, huh?  (we popped them and threw them in the trash as we left, so no fish or birds would choke on on a balloon left to float)

Everything about the part of our trip to Jacksonville was just the best.  Uncle Randy has  a beautiful garden, designed just for fairies, so Sugarwings fit right in.  He even bought her a new fairy gown to wear, as well as wings for the rest of the family too. (I got to be an angel, that was a twist for me, I'm usually a trouble maker)

Uncle Randy gave her a flute to play to entice fairies to come and dance with her.

Everytime I visit Randy and Kevin's home, the garden gets more beautiful.  Its a vacation in itself to sit out there and sip a glass of wine and just relax and take in the view.  Of course, the gourmet cooking that those two guys spoil us with doesn't hurt either.

Their garden is welcoming and interactive, so many hidden treasures to find in the plants.  But knowing our rough and tumble, curious little pixie, Randy was kind enough to give her an area to dig and make mud cookies too. 

Sugarwings thought that Tillie was dressed in a party hat just for our visit, and told her over and over how beautiful she looked in it.

I missed having my good camera with me on the trip, but we decided to be very streamlined in our packing, since we were traveling with a 3 year old.  So, I kept a small, light weight camera in my pocket instead of the heavy (but adored) Rebel that fills my purse.

I'll leave you with some photos of Randy and Kevin's home.  You can see why I looked so tired in the photo of the three of us on the swing. There is a lot of stuff in their house that attracted Sugarwings, and I was on  high alert, two steps behind her, and keeping her busy so she didn't indulge herself in exploring all the pretties!

And my favorite thing about Jacksonville?

The most fun baby brother anyone could ever have!

 I will be away from my computer for our trip to Florida this week. I've added some more Grumpy Fairy books to the Boutique

Thanks so much for all of your interest!  If you place an order, it will go out after I return, on November 2nd.  I'll also announce the winner of one of the books for my October Giveaway
and the winner of one of my ephemera packs for creating a paper doll
dress.  For each 10 people that use my $10 discount code
(karlascottage) to enroll in Artist Class, I will give away one pack of supplies to make the tutorial. So, I'll be giving one (or more?) after my trip.

This is who I am going to see in Jacksonville on Tuesday.

Along with my Sissy, too. Sadly, she won't have her werewolf with her…

And my sister, Bobbie Sue.

I've been having a some fun with Picnik and the wonderful editing tools
they have there.  Its pretty easy to do, and quick, I didn't really
blow THAT much time on it…

Between getting my goods gathered for Silver Bella, getting the book done, and pastelling up some trees, I've started getting ready for our adventure to Florida too.

Target had these Mermaid snack bags that were just what we needed for packing up goodies. I didn't want to be left at the mercy of convenience stores or fast food when Sugarwings needed a fast snack.  So, there are bags of homemade granola and bags filled with cereal with nuts, raisins, and mini marshmallows.

Considering she eats like a hummingbird, I might have packed a bit extra…

I'll leave you with a MEME that Jessi

passed along to me. After doing it, I realized it was supposed to be one word answers, oops. Hard to shut me up, isn't it??

Where is your cell phone?

In my purse, out in the car, in the garage.  I rarely take it out of there.

Your hair color?

Lately,
Cinnamon Stick, a non-permanent rinse I've been doing myself because I
got tired of paying for highlights to cover the gray.  The gray is
peeking through this rinse, so I might have to rethink this plan.

You can find my goods for sale in Etsy

and at the

If you are looking for a copy of my bed time story, The Grumpy Fairy, please click here.

Click on any of the titles to see my photo albums.

Sugarwings–  Photos and artwork of my fairy grand baby

Press– Photos from some magazine articles I have done over the years

Paintings– A selection of murals that I have done

Artwork– Some of my art

The littlest fairy baby