vintage paper/collage art – Page 16

Bye Bye Fairies, Hello Ghosts!

dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, family, free images, holiday decor, Romantic Gothic Ghosts, swaps, Tutorials, vintage paper/collage art, Workshops, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / September 23, 2012

Isn't this fairy from Linda sweet as can be?

It's sad that the Faery Book Swap is over! I made a couple more pages, as thank yous to some sweet people. And I have extra covers that I hope to list on Etsy or in the Boutique. If I ever get a spare minute to do it!

In the fairy frenzy, I'd made up about 16 pages for the swap, and didn't need them all of course, so I'll have a few of those to list too. But I didn't want to use any of those as thank yous. I thought "thanks" deserved something made special just for it.

I still have my family's books, they weren't mailed because we are going to open them all together when everyone gets here to visit for Romantic Gothic Ghosts.

I'm so glad that Guncle Randy, Sissy, Bobbie Sue and Terry can come out to play with us for the classes! We hope to go to see the annual Lawrence Zombie walk if everyone arrives in time, it will be on Thurs. the 4th and family is flying/driving in from Utah, Florida and Indiana.

Then, Friday is shopping at the West Bottoms district, with all the once a month junk and antique stores, as well as Bottoms Up.

Saturday the 6th will be our ghost filled craft day, with Gypsy spells and ravens. Sunday we plan on hitting the Renfest, all decked out in our fairy attire. A perfect little reunion!! Plus I get to have my blog friends meet my family, that will be nice. I'm glad that we are having a workshop while the relatives are in town.

Along with the thank you pages, I mailed out hand made envelopes stuffed with tidbits. To make these, I looked at a regular envelope to get an idea for the pattern, cut it out from an old book page, folded it up and glued the edges. Simple, and kinda cute. I might need to do more of these!

I've gone straight from sweet fairies to gothic ghosts.

These images (provided in the online Romantic Gothic Ghost class) are printed on transparencies and hung around the room.

And the room is a WRECK! I've started cleaning and decorating, but need to get all the chaos and clutter out too.

I started decorating at the ceiling first, then the cabinet tops around the room. I'm sure most people would have cleaned the whole room, put away the mess and then started fixing up. But I got too excited about making the ghosts and had to do the fun parts first!

See how they are hung from tattered tulle on the ceiling? (I'll have more photos later)

**********

Speaking of photos, I've noticed that no matter how good my camera is, and how well I edit pictures, they NEVER look as good on my blog as they do on my computer files.

I wish I could fix this…. I also noticed that if you click on one to open it in a bigger window, its sharper.

**************

Another instance of backward preparedness- instead of cleaning and making kits, I wanted to make some ghostly images to set around the room. This collage is an old trinket box with a glass lid that Beth gave me. I took out the image that came it in, turned it on its side and made it a shadow box.

A transparency spider image is across the glass, and a ghostly girl is layered over a gothic arch (from the albums full of pictures and images and backgrounds and patterns that were scanned and added to the online class) and glued to the back of the box. I then added some tatted trim and some very old, beat up flowers.

Its very small, and I seriously doubt that it adds a lot to the over all decor of the room. But it was something I really wanted to do.

We had lots of projects made up for the online class that I pulled out to use around the room too. This tag is pinned to my new curtains, hung just for the occasion. The tag is one of the "ready to go" bonus images from the class. All you do is print it and cut it out.

The curtains are from the Sparks Flea, and were $1. When I bought them, they were a hideous, fleshy peach. But I liked the over all pattern and the flocking was cool, so I gambled that dollar and bought them any way, hoping a bowl of dye would take.

It did and now I just love them.! Thing is, though, I bought them thinking I'd cut them apart to use in projects, and to test the dye, I cut a hunk off the bottom of one to dip. I loved it so much, that I dyed the rest of the panels and hung them up, even with a hunk missing at the bottom of one.

In the window, is a banner also made from the Romantic Gothic Ghost online classes. There are tons of projects, decorating ideas, and printable images in the class. I'd forgotten how much there was in it, and had a lot of fun looking through it with fresh eyes.

Everyone coming to the class at the studio gets the online class free too. We still have a couple spots open for our one day party in the studio if you'd like to join us.

You could hold a puppy on your lap while you work…..

Big Cedar and a BIG error in Swap Ettiquette

swaps, Travel, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / September 13, 2012

Last week, we were invited to share the Governor's Suite at Big Cedar Lodge.

That resort is beyond wonderful anyway, but man- that suite is really something! This is the master bath, look at the mosaic surrounding the tub area.

The room has a TV behind the mirror in the bathroom too.

And the resort is located near Branson, smack dab in the center of some beautiful scenery. Its very relaxing and was a much needed getaway. Although, I'm even more behind after being gone for a couple of days.

It was certainly worth being behind, though. Our friends have a time share there and we have joined them in the past when they've rented cabins, but wowzers, this suite was something! I'm glad I didn't turn down the invitation because I was swamped in the studio.

Plus, it was such a fun group! When I wasn't napping by the pool, we were laughing nonstop. All of us had aching jaws from too much smiling.

Since I've been back, I'm still working on the Faery Book Swap. Its a big job, but a fun one. I love assembling the books.

Here are some of the pages I put together for the books on Craft Day last Tuesday.

I am SO PROUD of the swappers. What a great swap! There has been one issue, that really upset me, though.

One lady contacted me to say that there was a page in her book that she threw away at the curb. I was shocked.

Honestly, there is not a page sent in that I wouldn't be proud to have in my own book, this swap was amazing. But everyone does have their own ideas about what art is.

My swaps are not juried, they are open to everyone. And there is a wide range of styles and skills, but you can tell that lots of love and time went into each page. I love the effort and the care that everyone puts forth.

And no, I can't guarantee that each recipient will adore each page in her book, but I do think that politeness would ensure not being mean spirited about it and saying the pages should have been sent back to the artist, not to other swappers!

Simply set that one aside if you really are not happy with it. Don't be hurtful.

Doing a collaborative swap means that you get a variety of pages back. Its much better than a one on one swap, where you could get totally burned if your partner sends something completely not your style. That has happened to me, so I never do one on ones, unless I know the person.

I like to do these big swaps, knowing that no one gets burned. Lots of people drop out at the last minute, some with no notice, others with heartfelt apologies. But in a big swap, that doesn't hurt any of the participants, you send in your amount, get the same amount back, no matter if there are 10 or 100 other swappers.

Hopefully, you will like most of your book. I made an effort to match up the pages so that they flow nicely together.

But if you don't like one of your pages, please be a lady about it. So what if one person's work isn't up to your high standards? Who are you to judge? Lots of time went into these and it hurts me to think that someone could be that angry about a page that they received that they would send me a rant about it.

I begged the irate swapper to not go public and mention this on her blog or facebook. No one needs to know the details. No one deserves to be singled out by someone who doesn't like their work. It would break my heart if one of our swappers was hurtful to another one of the ladies about her pages.

Especially since, it was a nicely done work with quality materials. Done by a person who knows what she is doing, not a newbie, and it was done well. I of course, will not point it out. But I have posted photos of it (not saying which one) in one of my posts about book assembling. And no, I would never embarrass the person who complained by naming her either.

My point, I guess is this. Please be nice. Just because something is not to your taste, doesn't mean others don't like it, or that it is bad art. Quietly remove a page from your book if you really don't care for it, but please be considerate of the work and care that someone else put into it. You would appreciate that consideration from others about your own work, wouldn't you? If you are that easily angered by the standard of work in a swap, maybe you should rethink swapping.

And thank you SO MUCH to the 99% of the swappers in this group, it was a fabulous feast of fairies and I'll miss them all in my studio. And thanks for your patience in me getting them mailed to you, its not a quick process. There are quicker ways I could do it, but I really do my best to make sure that each book is well coordinated.

Faery Book Swap page sets

Books, fairies, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / September 8, 2012

I'm so impressed with the art that has been winging its way to my door! Wow, what beautiful pages!

My job is to select pages that flow together in some way, whether color theme, or style.

Of course, I can't match them up perfectly, but I make sure that the pages look pretty together.

Its a joy to make the books up!

Its not a joy to make the labels for the packages though. Ugh. Oh well, its going ok. This will take a while, but I sure got a good start Labor Day weekend.

Not all the packages had arrived yet, but I had 50 some sets of pages, that was plenty to mix and match.

Sorry that I have not given you the names of all of the artists. If your art is here, please do leave a comment and let us know. These books are all done and packed up, so I can't flip them over to read the names at this point.

Gorgeous, huh???

Knee deep in Fairies

Books, fairies, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / September 6, 2012

Earlier this week, I began to tackle the boxes and packages of Faery Book Swap pages that have been arriving. Here are my steps:

Each box needs to be opened, and usually the pages are individually wrapped.
There is a master list with all the names, and I check off that the package arrived.
I salvage all bubble wraps and tissue paper.
I make sure there is a return address, if not I have to cut it off of the box they arrived in, then check off the address on my master list.
I check for payment, set that aside and mark the person paid.
The pages get stacked with the return address at the bottom of the pile. When I make the books, that helps me keep track of who created those pages. Then I slide the completed books into the padded envelopes and tape the address to the front. I don't use this as a label, I make the labels online and look at the taped on address as I type in the info.
All empty boxes get stored away for future use, I try to recycle as much as I can.

So far, I've made 52 stacks of 8 pages. This table top has been cleared and all the packages are tended to. What a good feeling!

I'll wait till the rest arrive to finish the stacks, and start making the books. Since I extended the deadline due to Labor Day, they will be trickling in all week.

Want a peek of some of the gorgeousness that has been coming my way?

Its going to be sad when the avalanche of packages stops coming to the door every day. Its like little bits of blog friends coming to visit my studio. Well, that sounds weird. But I hope you know what I mean.

I'm glad to know that I have Romantic Gothic Ghosts planned, and that I can start gearing up for that. Then, I'll have real live friends coming to see me here. (there are a couple spaces left if you'd like to come to play with us)

Freda sent Sugarwings this sweet music box, I can't wait to see her face when she opens it. We like to wind up a music box after I tuck her in sometimes, and she can listen to the music till it runs down.

I've always admired Robin Sanchez's work, and was thrilled that she sent me one of her pieces!! Look at that Charlotte necklace!!!

Charlottes are such a special little doll, aren't they? And so wonderful to use in projects. I adore what Terri Gordon did with this one. When its folded up, its a heart. When its open, the sides are fairy wings!!

This was on someones box, sorry I can't remember who. Cute,huh? I'm often blown away by some of the packaging that comes in. Wow, there is a lot of love and care that goes into a swap. Which is just one of the many reasons why I love them!

I'll try to snag a few more pics as I make the books. And I'll pin these from my blog to the Pinterest Board that I made.

PS- a couple years ago, Beth and I did this online class, complete with every paper and image you need ready to download and print for the detailed projects. There are also lots of decor tips and pretty ideas.

It wsa the inspiration for our Romantic Gothic Ghost class at my studio, Oct. 6th.

There are a couple spots left in the workshop at my house, and if you sign up to come, the online class comes as a bonus! If you can't make it to Kansas for the arty party, the online classes are full of fun and only $25.

Romantic Gothic Ghosts Workshop at Karla’s Studio

bird song art event, holiday decor, parties, Romantic Gothic Ghosts, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / July 25, 2012

Beth and I are planning some classes at my studio, a one day event, a bit more casual than Birdsong was. She'll teach in the morning while I get lunch ready, then its my turn to have an afternoon class. Both will be very much in tune with the online Romantic Gothic Ghost online projects we did a couple of years ago.

That online class is still available for $25 or you can get it free when you come to our classes at my home.

Projects for the day are still to be announced, we are in the midst of prototypes. I can promise that they are going to be moody and romantic, a lovely piece to decorate your home with for Halloween, with no garish purple or orange to be seen.

Lunch, complete kits full of vintage goodness, dessert, and drinks will be included, as well as the bonus online class. And we'll schedule some time for coffee and muffins before the work day begins so everyone can get acquainted.

Saturday Oct. 6, 2012 from 9am-6pm

Cost is $100

Email me if you'd like to pay by check, or click here, and scroll to the bottom of the post to get to the pay pal button.

Classes at my home are very casual, tee shirt and jeans type things, not dressy at all. But feel free to be a little witchy for Halloween if you'd like. My Sissy is coming and she will be all witchied-up. I might be too.

Also, I've got to warn you, that we will be surrounded by werewolves. 1-2 lb ones, though, so not as dangerous as most. Twinkle's puppies will be at the age where they will be scampering about underfoot all day. Feel free to snuggle one on your lap while you work if it looks like its getting tired. Sometimes little werewolf cubs need more rest than they think, and should be encouraged to nap.

But only if you are strong willed enough to ignore the tempting price tags tied around their necks. Yep, puppies will be for sale…..

It did my heart good to have some Birdsong friends sign up as soon as I announced this on Facebook Tuesday!! It matters a lot to me that people who have been here before are looking forward to coming back.

This class will have limited seating, and will one day only. If you are coming in town for it, its a great weekend to be in the KC area. The Old West Bottoms area of Kansas City is opened up with tons of once a month junk and antique stores, and the Renfest is going on too. I LOVE both. (Our class is on a Saturday, and I plan on being at Bottoms Up on Friday, and the Renfest on Sunday myself.) more info about both can be found here
All food served will be homemade, with fresh ingredients. I usually cook pretty healthy and low fat, but I make up for the calorie savings with some decadent desserts.

Beth and I would love to see you there. Hope we do!

Fairy page collage how tos, Plus some answers to questions about the swaps

fairies, how to's, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / July 10, 2012

These fairy pages are too much fun!

I know I only need 8 to swap, but I wanted some extra in case they were needed. Sometimes the count is slightly off in a swap, or someone sends the wrong amount, or I plain old screw it up somehow and its just handy to have a stack of extras to add to a book just in case.

(I'm an artist, not a mathematician!! I try hard, but numbers sometimes are painful for me)

This page is covered in "Moths" sheet music, then inked all over with 3 similar inks, darkening the edges even more than the rest of the page.

Next, I glued down some old hat netting.

Then, I added a fairy dress made up of flower petals to a vintage baby doll. Her wings are a sheer butterfly.

I started to glue her down directly to the netting, but she looked washed out, so I dug through my drawer full of millinery leaves and found a big, velvet one.

The page is finished by gluing trim cut from an old garment to the bottom and topping that with a butterfly brooch.

Here is another done with sheet music. This one is "Little Buttercup", and the words are on the back, I'll show that picture too.

I wrapped the sheet music around both sides of the page, and then lined one side with an old wallpaper bordered, and trimmed the bottom with zig zag chrocheted edging.

Next, I colored the little girl on the sheet music with markers, and gave her butterfly wings cut from an old book about insects. I drew in some flowers next to her, similar to the ones on the border of the sheet music.

To make her stand out, I outlined the body and wings with a Tim Holtz Distress Ink marker. I used the same marker around the wallpaper border. She still didn't "pop" as much as I'd like, so I used white ink to embellish the details of her dress, gloves, socks, and shoes.

From the bug book, I cut another butterfly out and glued it above the girl. Then glued a posy of millinery blooms to her hand.

The back is simple, a Victorian calling card was added to the middle of the page, and I inked the edges in a soft blue.

I do need to sign the back. Please make sure you sign your pages too! Everyone will want to know whose pages they received.

I'll leave you with some pictures of what is new in the Boutique.

And in my next posts I will have more "how tos" about the other pages I've done.

Its not too late to join the swap. Click on the button to the right of my post for details. You have all summer to make the eight pages. Well, its kind of 16, with the backs, but the backs can be very, very simple, just pretty paper only, no designs.

People have asked me if their pages all need to be the same. No, of course not! They go to 8 different people, so do them however you like.

Another question I get a lot is: can there be things sticking over the edges of the page?

Oh yes! Lace, trim, ribbons, whatever, all look pretty dangling from the book! And the size guidelines don't have to be exactly perfect, just in that ballpark size. An inch smaller or larger will be ok. I am folding card stock in half to use, so mine are pretty much the same, except for trailing trims.

You can be more creative than I've been and use other materials besides card stock. Just make sure that the page will hold up in the book. Paper that is too thin, might tear at the hole punch. But fabric, metal, cardboard, burlap, all sorts of things will be acceptable replacements for cardstock. (to see an example, look at what Cheryl did with her birdhouses here)

There are great tag examples and a little bit about how I process the pages as they arrive in this old post too.

In the past, I have been blown away by the imaginations of swappers when the bounty starts flowing in my mailbox. I am dumbfounded by what some of you are capable of and shake my head wondering why I never thought of doing something like that.

Another question I get is about 3D items. YES, YES! they add a lot of interest. Just make sure there is nothing thick along the left side, I'm still not sure how I'll be putting the books together, maybe just one punch in the upper left corner like here, or two or more rings like here.

I'll have to put a few together and see how I like the look of them either way.

I've got cute, woodland fairy charms to tie on, and will add some ribbons and lace too. The books will be bound with rings, so the owners can always open them up to add more pages if they would like too.

Hope to see you in the swap! We are up to 80 swappers so far. Man, I have my work cut out for myself, don't i????

Painting fairies

Books, fairies, paintings, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / June 26, 2012

.
This week, I've done a lot of painting. Still not sure, but I think this might be the right fairy for the book swap covers.
I'm experimenting with different copy sizes and papers. When I make the covers, no two will be exactly alike anyway, even if I use the same image. I'm using vintage millinery petals and leaves for the wings, and trimming the bottom with a variety of laces and ribbons. The wallpaper under the title will be changing too. I'll have an assortment of florals that I'll be cutting from.

The back of the cover will be done in vintage wallpaper too. But I like the text behind the fairy. Or do I? Maybe I'll do some with wallpaper too.

When I have to make dozens and dozens and dozens of something, I need some variety as I go along. So a few changes here and there make the work much more interesting.

(by the way, thanks to all of you who signed up!! I'm excited that so many of you wanted to play fairy with us- and I have room for plenty more if you haven't signed up yet.)

The painting I did has a flower on the fairy's head, but I'm gluing a teensy millinery bloom over it.

She also has some wings, and a painted background, but I like the idea of cutting out the figure and adding 3-D wings.

I'm not one hundred percent positive that this will be the cover yet. I'm in a painting mood, I might do a few more girls and see which I like best. There is also no reason why I have to do all the covers the same, either.

If you'd like to join the swap, please do! Email me me with your name, blog name, and email address ( you do NOT have to have a blog to join, of course) Details here.

Pools Of Light

how to's, jewelry, paintings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / June 15, 2012

My sissy is a vintage jewelry expert. She collects a wide variety of beautiful pieces and I've learned an appreciation about the subject from shopping with her or looking through her vast, luscious piles and stacked boxes of precious pretties.

I've long admired her "Pool of Light" beads, without really knowing what they were,thinking just pretty little crystal ball type dangles.

So, when Beth had some junk jewelry for sale and had some of these little marble thingies in it, I was quick to snap them up to make my own necklace with.

Then I did some research about the balls, here is one thing I found:

For thousands of years this optically clear quartz has been used as gemstones because of its enchanting ability to absorb and affect light in the way that it does. Images viewed through genuine rock crystal balls appear to be reversed or upside down. They are brilliant, luminous and will be a conversation piece wherever worn. These literal works of art are finely crafted and are from turn of the century.

I also found out that they were very expensive. And felt a bit guilty about buying them from her for a couple bucks. But I'd already made a necklace for myself, and one for a birthday coming up for some one else.

And I did NOT want to take off my necklace!!

So, I made a necklace for Beth too, using pieces I thought she'd like, including an old luggage tag from the Santa Fe railroad.

And that didn't seem like enough, so I foofed up a box for her too. Its an old jewelry box, and to the top, I added text that included the word "prism" (seemed fitting) and a die cut rose. Over that, I smeared modelling paste, let that dry and added ink.

To the interior, I glued text to the inside lid, and a tiny die cut rose over that.

Next, I layered hand writing from a ledger page, that had been waxed, so had a nice, transparent quality, and scraped it away from the rose under it, and glued a teensy millinery posey under that.

While my jewelry tools were out, I made this necklace too, as well as some earrings for a pal.

Its inspiring to have beautiful baubles to work with, so I was on a roll.

I did a bit of painting that day, too. I'm not done with this one, I'm adding some 3d wings to her too.

Last day to enter the drawing for the bird themed collage! Drawing is Saturday.

I'll leave you with some photos of newer listings in the Boutique.

Special friends and a special day

Books, celebrations, dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), parties, vintage paper/collage art, wallpaper, We're having a party, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / June 12, 2012

Before I left for my North Carolina adventure, I had a little party for some special friends. Kecia, who I met at Tiffanys in CA is on quite an adventure herself. A two month plus trek across the country, hop scotching from one friend, family member, junk shop, to another. She stopped to see me here at the cottage on her way across I70.

And my beautiful friend, Angie, was having a birthday. Two reasons to celebrate!

You know me, it doesn't take much to convince me its time for a party. I love any excuse to set the table and invite friends over.

And with two special occasions, I was raring to go.

I stole my buddy, Carol's tip about using vintage wallpaper as a table runner. And I just happened to have a few rolls to choose from…

Angie had another very important celebration, she is a first time grammie as of a few days ago! So, I broke out the extra special, hoarded, fairytale wall paper from the 20s and made a frame for her to put a baby picture in.

Instead of just having a dinner party, I invited everyone to come for the afternoon and have craft day too, and friends dropped by here and there for whatever time they could make it. Some just for craft day, some just for dinner.

My favorite way to spend a day. Good friends, good conversation and stuff to make!!

I'm still hooked on slopping modelling paste on my collages. So, I made some books with covers all textured up. (this one is in the Boutique)

On this one, I collaged the back too, but instead of texture, I dry brushed paint over the collage, then inked it a bit.

This book needs a slight re-do. I've filled it with pages and pages of old papers, and they are too delicate to turn with ribbon ties. I have to add some rings instead.

Here is the back of this one.

IIt will be a while before I burn out on this technique, I'm super into smooshing the modelling paste around over pretty papers!

Dew Drop's mommy, our Gypsy, made a journal this way too, Beth worked on some stiitching, the other Karla was doing needlepoint, Shanna had some painting to do in an enamelling project, and Angie was foofing up vintage bottles with messages and trinkets.

The great thing about craft day, is that everyone works at their own pace on whatever they feel like, and the conversation flows here, there, and everywhere.

Kecia arrived later in the day, and said she had not had a chance to create while on her trip, so I set her up with supplies to make a book too. I love the layers she put on her cover.

After dinner, when the other guests had gone, she and I went back out to the studio and worked till after midnight finishing our books.

Twinkle bonded with her, and we will both miss her, the visit was much too short!

Beads, Baubles, and peas

Food and Drink, give away, jewelry, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / June 10, 2012

This is the last of the four Tiffanys projects that I made in Cali. It was in my pal, Lonnie's class.

I brought quite a few of my own supplies, including the blue enamelled flower along with me, but she provided high quality, pretty things to work with too.

As a matter of fact, between what she gave us in the kits and what I brought, I was able to make two necklaces in her class. I didn't really master the techniques she was teaching, I kind of went off on my own, but she was a good teacher and had a great way of doing her examples that made it easy to follow.

One of the necklaces that I made will be for me to keep, and the other is a birthday gift for a dear freind.

This post was written before I went to Raleigh and Nags Head, and as I am writing it, I am snacking on the latest dish from my Summer of Salads.

Its a pea salad, that you can make with fresh, farmer's mkt peas, or frozen ones right from the bag.

about a 1/2 bag of peas
1/2 a sweet red pepper, chopped
about 1/2 cup of chopped purple cabbage
1/2 a sweet Vidalia onion, chopped
1/2 cup of fat free feta cheese crumbles
6 boiled eggs, chopped (mine were straight from the hen house!)
sea salt, garlic powder, and pepper to taste
olive oil based mayo, enough to moisten (I don't like a lot of dressing, so added mine a couple spoonfuls at a time till it looked right)

Another salad for the week was a simple fruity one.

one honey dew, cubed
one quart of strawberries, halved
juice of one lime
drizzle of agave syrup
a splash of pomegranate juice
two sprigs of mint leaves

My latest obsession is mint sprigs. Especially in this concoction-

one can of lime selzter water
a 1/4 packet of drink powder
pour over a pretty glass filled with ice
add a pink straw
top with mint leaves

I sure don't miss Diet Coke when I have one of these in my hands. I used to think that those drink powder packets were silly. Why not just buy a drink already made up? They are meant for bottled waters, and I really thought it was ridiculous to buy a drink twice. The water, then the powder.

But, I got a sample of them, and took some along on my last trip and they are nice to have around and taste pretty good. Especially if you use club soda with them, and only a tiny part of the packet at a time, I usually get four drinks from one. And since I usually mix my soda with juice anyway, it doesn't feel extravagant to mix this in like it would if I used it in a bottle of water.

Please remember to leave a comment if you want to be entered into the drawing for a collage giveaway.

And if you know of any good junking areas around Raleigh or Nags Head please email me with some shopping ideas!

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net