vintage paper/collage art – Page 19

A whimsical mantel redo

fairies, family, flowers, guncles, Travel, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / June 28, 2011

My Guncle weekend was just wonderful, as I knew it would be. Kevin bought my plane ticket as a birthday gift to Randy, lucky, lucky me!

It all went by too fast, we played all weekend, and got sillier as the days passed by.

Jacksonville is great, but we were having too much fun to get out and explore. We stayed in the craft room, garden or kitchen except for a quick run to pick up more seafood to cook or craft supplies to work with.

We got a bunch of these little wooden birds at Michaels and foofed them up for part of a redecorating project we wanted to do. This one is perched on a grapevine wreath that we turned into a nest for the display.

When I arrived, the guys mentioned that they were ready for a mantel makeover. Here is a Before shot of that corner.

And Ta-da! Here is the whimsical after. We turned the fireplace into a magical fairy land, by shopping around the house, arranging some silk flowers, and making a few little tidbits to add here and there.

After taking everything down, so we could start from scratch, we decided to remove the fireplace screen too. The logs are wrapped in mini lights, and we perched fairies with red glass wings, and some other fun creatures inside, then tucked lots of greenery all around.

Out in the garage, I found a couple of large, metal bread racks, one in this great red, the other with chippy white paint. We leaned these up against the ornate mirror that was hanging over the mantel, then started tucking things behind the racks and hanging other stuff on them.

Kevin just happened to find a big bagful of marble eggs at a garage sale that morning, and we nestled them all around, in mossy nests. (we were pretending they were fairy eggs)

He also found two of these old bird books, one we used for display, the other we greedily tore apart and made things out of in the craft room.

The guys had lots of fairies, elves, and sparkly creatures around the house and in the garden for us to add.

I'd brought them a Nest banner that I'd made, and we hung it right in the center.

At Christmas, Randy had made a glittering nest in this top hat, and for summer, we redid it with the little Fairy Frog Prince that I'd brought to him for his birthday.

And this magnicficent art deco piece is a light fixture that Kevin found along the road in the trash!! Randy arranged some flowers in it, since it neede rewiring before we could turn it on.

Yes, we know that its busy, and there is a lot going on. But to us, that just made it all that much more fun. More treasures to discover each time you looked through the display, more magic to enjoy.

Neither one of us really get "editing".

For me, it was such a blast to get to shop his house for all the goodies we used. And to do something so bright and playful, since my house is all pastels and creams. Plus, I got to play with my baby bro, and there isn't much better than that!

A velveeta box/ jewelry armoire

how to's, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / June 12, 2011

At Paper Cowgirls, there will be a fund raiser where transformed Velveeta boxes are auctioned off. I was happy to join in and make one, even if it meant I had to eat some fake cheese. It had been so many years since I'd had any of the artery clogging stuff that I forgot just how creamy and decadant it was. I could easily slip back into my old trailer trash ways and start making pots of mac and cheese with it again… but NO, it was a one time slip, and I'll not be buying any more of that, no matter how tempting it is. I ate it growing up and I raised my kids on that goo when I had a near zero dollar grocery budget, but now Sugarwings gets to eat some good, healthy foods and I've never fed it to her. (but honestly, is there anything creamier when melted over macaroni??)

But I digress with my love/hate cheese saga. The story is really about the box itself.

Anyway, I turned the box into this.

The lid and the bottom are turned on end, side by side and covered in paper, inside and out.

It has feet made up of 4 Scrabble tiles covered in old velvet ribbon.

Shelves are chip board and the "hinges" are ribbon.

There is a chipboard drawer too.

Its topped with a beautiful, old rose, and decked out with lots of laces and trims. I added a heavy antique clasp from a vintage photo album to the chip board door.

(rhinestone chain sold for $3.50 per foot available here, to make your own trims!)

The clasp was hefty and made the piece top heavy, so I balanced it by hanging lots of pretties on the side, a key, a chandelier drop, and jewelry.

Speaking of jewelry, I filled it up with some jewels too, just in case no one guessed it was actually a jewelry armoire instead of a cheese box now.

So, is this a case of making a silk purse out of sow's ear, or just slapping lipstick on the pig?

ps-The Dolled Up Dress Forms online tutorial is available here.

Or leave a comment if you'd like a chance to win one. (if you already are signed up, and you win, you will receive a kit full of vintagey goodies to make the dress form)

Freebirds and a lifetime supply of lace

free images, Sugarwings, swaps, Tutorials, vintage paper/collage art, wallpaper

By Karla Nathan / May 31, 2011

I hope you all had a memorable Memorial Day weekend! We went to a family BBQ and graduation celebration, saw a movie, planted the garden, I worked in the studio, and we also got to spent two afternoons on the lake. And even though the boat died in the water and we were stranded for a while, it was still a great time.

On Friday, we had both of our fairy babies over, it doesn't get any better than that. Not a bad kick off for a 3 day weekend.

While my husband played golf on Saturday, I was able to work in the studio a while. I'm making up some books to take to vendor night at Paper Cowgirls, but while I was at it, I made a few dress form tags too, since these gals have been on my mind so much while I am getting ready for the class in Texas and setting up the online tutorial. (by the way, that gorgeous wallpaper is one of the papers provided in the online class)

Details are in the previous post, or you can find them on my side bar, by clicking on the Dress Form Workshop button.

Thanks to all of you who already purchased the class!

Today, I start packing up my kits. And just in time, I got this order of vintage lace! Hundreds of feet of it. I think I might have plenty for the kits, huh?

There are 3-1/2 giant sized rolls of the stuff. These two are my faves. The others are a bit mundane, but useful anyway.

I'll be making up kits for the class itself, some to sell on vendor night, plus extra for the Boutique. I'll let you know when I get them done. Each kit includes a free entry to the online class, as well as vintagey goodies to make your dress form. No two will be exactly the same, since I am using ephemera, but each will be of equal value and style.

I'll be able to use up some of that lace to tie the Birdsong tag books together too. We are over 100 participants, but I still have room for more. If you are interested, details can be found on my side bar by clicking on the Bird Song Tag Book button.

Here are some scanned French chocolate cards with birds on them, for you to print. Click on them to save as a larger size first.

ps-My pal, Mary is having a sale on her online tute, and she is the queen of gluebooks if you are wanting to learn. Check it out here.

How To Alter a Book Cover with vintage pretties

flowers, how to's, Tutorials, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / May 23, 2011

Here is an altered book I made this week. I thought I'd do a simple, quickie tutorial about the cover.

The wallpaper covered cardstock is attached by gluing ribbon to the edge of the front cover and to the back also. Leave the center of the ribbon alone, not glued to anything, that leaves space for the cover to open and close.
The pages can be stitched together and sewn to the center of the binding ribbon. Use a heavy duty ribbon, like the velvet one I chose.
I cut girl from a hand tinted, old photo, and added it slightly off center to a medallion cut from wallpaper. At the bottom of the medallion, I used my Exacto blade to cut a slit to slide the photo under, so she looks like she is framed in the oval.
I glued down the oval/medallion, and the photo of the girl.
With a dark marker, I outlined the girl, and also the OUTSIDE rim of the oval, for shadows and depth.
Leaving the outside ring of the oval "frame" alone, I spread crackle glaze (from Tim Holtz) over the entire center of the medallion and over the girl too.
After drying, I topped it off with a bouquet of flowers and ribbons at the bottom and lined smaller flowers along the top of the frame.

Packing it up

flowers, Tutorials, vintage paper/collage art, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / May 22, 2011

The April Showers bring May Flowers sale is still going on in the Boutique and Etsy. I've added a few more packs of millinery flowers, and you'll get free shipping for the month of May for all flowers (USA only, sorry)

For the boutique, pay as usual, and I'll send a refund. For Etsy shipping is already marked free.

I've also been busy packing some up to sell at Paper Cowgirls next month. Lisa and I are sharing one table, so I'm trying to be smart about my space and what I'm packing to take along. Beth is good at figuring what items pack the most punch for the space they take up and I'm listening to her advice.

I tend to think that I can just take it all, and that isn't so smart. So this trip, I am trying to FOCUS on a few items that look well together, pack easily, and are affordable, but still worth my time to take.

This is my first Paper Cowgirls event, but Lisa has given me some tips on what the shoppers might like on vendor night too.

Here's what I have so far, some little Charlotte dolls (I have a few hundred more ordered, I hope I get them in time. If not, it will be a small basketful tagging along on this trip)

Lately I've been experimenting with paper clay fairies too, so I might bring those. On the other hand, they might be too hard to pack, since they are fragile… I'll only have one tub to fill, Beth and I are driving and neither of us have a big car. I have all the kits for my class that I need to take too. Beth is vending and will have a full table to fill, so space is limited.

And I think that some of my class kits for making dress forms is a good idea.

(by the way, I am making up extras to sell in the Boutique too. Along with an online tutorial.) I'll let you know when I have them ready to go.

Yesterday I made up some foofed journals to take along to sell. This one is an old diary, with a locking clasp.

These two are tiny little bank books I've given make overs to.

I'll probably have room for a few more little books. I wonder if that is a good idea? Any of it is a gamble, you just never know any time you plan to sell things.

But I'm going for the pure joy of being there, I've heard such wonderful things about Paper Cowgirls. Anything I sell is just icing on the cake!

We are over 80 participants in the Birdsong tag book swap, but I've got room for more. If you want to join us, details are in my blog post about it. You can get there by clicking on the button on my sidebar.

Hope to hear from you!

Hello Dollies!

antiques/junking, bird song art event, celebrations, parties, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / April 7, 2011

On Saturday, we had a create-a-thon in the studio.

They helped me work out kinks in my upcoming class for Paper Cowgirls.

Pictured are the creations of:

Me * Suzanne * Andrea * Jenn * Heather * Lori

For my dressform, I wanted to experiment with wallpaper instead of text. It was a little harder to do (stiffer paper) but I like how it turned out. I also kept mine simple, using only things that will be given to the students in the kits.

Its very frustrating to take a class and find that the teacher's example can't be made with what she gives you, isn't it?

While I was in the grips of decopauge fever, I covered this little bird too. It was just a white bird from the craft store, and Agnes Rosebud had eaten its head half off, so I did a bit of a redo on the poor little guy.

A room full of pros is a wonderful thing when you are figuring out ideas. And with this bunch, I wasn't exactly "teaching" them, it was more like all of us working on the same thing at the same time. I just gave them a few directions and they took off.

Those ladies gave me as many ideas as I gave them. I find that is true of any artful gathering. You get as much info from your tablemates as from any instructor.

Lori showed us how to make some wax paper flowers that were recently featured in Somerset Life. See how different they all turned out too?

The flowers are in a "vase" that I bought at Bottom's Up for $10. Its just some salvage bit of part of something else, but that is one of my favorite kinds of purchases. I'll use it a lot.

Beth spent the day working on the covers for her journal swap for Bird Song, but did get to make a flower too.

She got quite a few covers done, and no two were alike.

The group not only gave me good tips for my Paper Cowgirls class, they had lots of good ideas for the seating and studio arrangement for Bird Song.

I'd kind of oversold the event and was trying to figure out how to seat everyone. Suzanne had a wonderful idea and I've already rearanged the furniture as she suggested. I did that as soon as I got back from taking them to the airport.

Since I had more requests even after the class was overstuffed, I talked to the teachers, Carol, Lisa, and Debbie, and all of them agreed to give up their seats to students. So, now, I've gone from too full, to having a couple extra spaces.

Interested? Please let me know.

Now my studio seems lonely after having such a fun bunch here. I've packed up and mailed the last batch of purchases too big to fit in my guest's suitcases, and got those in the mail. Can you guess whose box this is? Yep, Jenn Hayslip, bunny queen. She scored big time on the bunny front while here. (by the way, she has spaces available for her romantic, prairie fairy tale if you'd like to get away on an arty adventure. We'll all be there too!)

And I was thrilled that everyone shopped my studio too. It was nice of them, and I know it is never easy to randomly shop around with stuff not priced. It was sweet that they made the effort.

Yes, I Can Can!

celebrations, Travel, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 20, 2011

This is a can can girl watercolor that I did for Kim, who is hosting the Moulin Rouge event I am attending in Cali.

I cut the lady (honestly, is she really a lady?? I suspect not) and glued her to a tag that I had made. At that point, before I added any baubles, I scanned it while it was flat.

You can click on it, save it to your computer and print it out, if you'd like to use the image for your own projects.

Here is the finished tag. I added a flocked butterfly and wrote the words "Moulin Rouge" onto some French text, added ribbons to the top, a feather and crystals to her hair.

Oh, and of course, some glitter.

Here are the gifties I made up for the goodie bags. Kim has 70 guests, but these didn't take me too long, it was pretty simple to stitch up the envelopes of flocked wallpaper, then I used the CuttleBug to chop up some butterflies of red flocked paper.

What's really cool, is that they are on adhesive backed contact paper, so the butterflies are now stickers.

I threw in a colorful feather and some rhinestones. Things that every can can girl needs in her supply kit.

I hope everyone likes them!

Well, some is better than none, right?

collections, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, Travel, vintage paper/collage art, wallpaper

By Karla Nathan / March 15, 2011

There were lots of good intentions of getting a ton of wallpaper cut…. but it just didn't happen. But what I did get cut is as pretty as can be.

Sometimes I just have to admit that there is only so much time in a day. Yesterday, Sugarwings and Pixie Pie came to play and I had to chose between getting my work done or being a grammy. I think you know what won!

Oh well, its not like the paper will spoil. I can cut more later when I am not pressed for time.

While I was working, it seemed like I had really cut up a lot, but once it was all ironed and packaged, it was much less than I thought it would be. I guess because I cut such big pieces this time, a hefty 14 x 17".

A lot of people were asking me for larger pieces, and I wanted to do a variety of sizes, but well, I've already mentioned that I was distracted by something shiny- two little sparkly fairies!

For now, I have about a dozen or so packs listed in the Boutique. And I have hopes of making up more packs when I get back from my trip to Moulin Rouge.

All purchases from the Boutique and from Etsy will be shipped a couple of days after I get back. Thanks for being patient!

There is also some other new stuff listed for sale, like this banner made of vintage gift wrap and old game cards (from my friend, Mary)

While I didn't get as much wallpaper packed up as I wanted to, I made up for it by cutting up what felt like a million or so pieces of old gift wrap. While I had it out, getting it ready to sell, I just had to make a few things with it too.

Like this mini notebook.

Its pretty stuff, isn't it?

I'll leave you with some more photos of what is new in the shops. And please check back, even though I'll be away, I'll have some new posts for you.

Now, I'm off to pack for Moulin Rouge. I'm not quite sure what to bring. I think I'd look more than a bit ridiculous as a can can girl. More of a can't can't old lady.

Oh well, I'll throw on one of Sugarwing's feather boas from her dress up pile and go kick my legs up any way. This is one old grammy who doesn't care about looking ridiculous!

Facing challenges, a how to, and a prize

fairies, how to's, how-to projects, vintage paper/collage art, wallpaper

By Karla Nathan / March 8, 2011

Mary Green hosts a monthly collage challenge on her blog, with a few images from her collections. When I saw it, I had some ideas to change it around. And to banish Winter! NO MORE SNOW, I want Springtime!!

I also wanted to try some beeswax, and thought this would be a good opportunity to experiment.

This is what she had us all start with. The rule is to use every image, but that you can add other papers and stuff too. The last time Mary was here for craft day, she gave all of us pages and pages of printed images from her many collections, so I decided to use only "Mary Papers" in my creation.

To change the Victorian lady into a fairy, I first cut her out like a paper doll, then traced her skirt shape onto some floral paper and then cut it out on glued it over the existing gray skirt. That part was easy, it was a little tougher to piece in the bodice of the dress. After tracing and piecing it in, I had to trim away some extras, and then used a light brown marker over the whole dress to add folds in the fabric.

The French holy card had a pretty border that I cut out and used as a ruffle at the bottom of the skirt.

I didn't care for the winter theme, so snipped off the ice skate blades and the muff, and glued the paper doll onto a tag covered in ledger paper (from Mary's collection), the text from the French holy card, the bank letter head from the challenge, and some green silk ribbon.

Have you ever tried beeswax over your art? I did once, in a Silver Bella class, so knew just a little about it. I had to experiment this time to get it right.

I melted the wax in a mini crock pot that came free with my big crock pot.

Starting with the smaller areas,like the sleeves, I brushed wax on with a small brush, then with a larger, flat brush, filled in the skirt.

I discovered that a blob can be smoothed out with another application of wax over it. And its good to work in one long swoop of a brush stroke.

Adding glitter to the waxed wings sounded like a good idea, but it wasn't. So I discovered that you can scrape away the wax with the flat side of an exacto knife's blade.

This made a really cool texture, the dress is a heavy coat of wax and the wings are a flat, sheen of wax, just the remnants from me scraping off the glittery blob chunks that didn't work so well.

I also found that I could take the exacto knife's point to clean up the edges and any bumps on the dress. After that, I kind of polished it with a paper towel wrapped over my finger. Just a light buffing stroke over the whole waxed area made it look really pretty.

Her hat is a millinery leaf glued on her head, with a white feather and some rhinestones over it. Fast, easy and fit for a fairy queen. I made a belt for her from the same silk ribbon that I used in the background, and then touched up her hair with a brown marker and her lips with a pink one.

SInce I had cut off the muff she was holding, her hands were gone too, they'd been inside the muff. To fix that, I glued a bouquet over the place where her hands should be. We'll just pretend she is holding the flowers.

You can see the wax better in this close up. It creates kind of a dreamy look to the "fabric" of the dress.

A ruffle of crepe, (dipped in coffee to age it), a millinery bloom, and a fairy charm and I was done.

Thanks, Mary!

My studio is full of paper right now. I've been slicing and dicing vintage gift wrap to make up packages to sell in the Boutique. Its not there yet, but I'll let you know when it is.

While I was cutting up the paper, I just had to snip some off for myself, and I made up a couple of banners. This one is done with all baby shower gift wrap and playing cards to spell B A B Y.

The wallpaper chopping is progressing. Slowly but surely. Its so freakin boring to do that it takes me forever. I keep thinking of little errands I should run, or tell myself I need to check on something. I'll make up any little task to get a break from this big one. I'm trying to cut a LOT at once and get the shop stocked up.

At first its fun, because the papers are so pretty and I enjoy playing with them. But after cutting out 5 or 6 of the same pattern I get very burnt out and want to switch to a different roll of paper. Or just leave.

Its almost enough to make me want to work on my taxes. No, not really, no taxes have been done yet. That is even more tedious.

Honestly, a person who is self employed and works at home should have better discipline. I need a boss to make me finish this!

But here is a fun part of my job, I get to announce the winner of my drawing for the package of good stuff-

And the packet goes to:

Clairice at Storybook Woods (one of the first blogs I started reading)

Are you up for the challenge?

fairies, give away, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / March 5, 2011

What a wonderful day I have had. Its about 8pm, and I am still jammied up. I've spent the entire day in the studio elbow deep in my favorite things, and was too busy to even get dressed. (which also explains why these photos might be a little fuzzy, I just finished, and took the pictures in bad lighting. But I wanted this post to be up and ready for you to link to on Sunday)

My goal for the day was to delve into some of those supplies that I'd bought to use, but that were so wonderful as is, I'd just left sitting in my studio and never touched. Like these little figurines.

For years, and years, I've had this red velvet, vintage album cover, just waiting to be turned into something, and today I finally did.

And I didn't hold back. Every tiny bit that I used on it is something wonderful, French text, rose wallpaper, handfuls of millinery flowers, a rhinestone butterfly, and a GREAT, old, English cottage print.

It was the best time! I cut and glued and played all day, my husband is out of town and I am on my own. No meals to cook, no one to tend to, America's Next Top Model and some other deliciously awful trash TV recorded to watch. And the determination to use The Good Stuff. Yep, a great day!

Beth had given me a bagful of these butterflies last week, and one of those was just perfect to use for the fairy princess's wings. Its tempting to fill an apothecary jar with these and just admire them, but I made myself pop the head off of one and glue it to the figurine's back, (I do think that the antenneas and heads should be removed from a butterfly before adding it as fairy wings. You don't want it to just look like a complete butterfly on her back, you want it to look like the wings are actually hers.)

Earlier this week, I'd sewn up some ruffled strips of salvaged fabric, and while they were not "worth" a lot, I still include them in my besties. And they are something that normally I would have used sparingly, but today, I went whole hog and used THREE rows of ruffles on this can-can girl dress form that I made.

And not only did I use a nice old rhinestone button for the top of the mannequin, I also ringed it in rhinestones. I double foofed it, even though the button alone looked good, the extra sparkle really made the piece.

We all know its not the cost of the item that makes us want to hoard the best things, its much more than that. It can be the sheer beauty, the rarity, or a memory tied to it. We tend to get emotional about our best finds, don't we?

This piece of round, domed glass came out of a ratty frame, and was a dollar at a flea market. But I've left it on a shelf in my studio for what seems like forever, just because it looked nice with a collection of other clear glass items I had in the pile.

But I sure think it looks better over this bird picture than it did on a plate on my shelf!

It felt good to use it.

And I'll bet you can guess what the hoarded item in this piece was- yep, the ROSES. Oh my! Some of the prettiest I have ever had.

I also used TWO rows of old velvet ribbon, and a beautiful jet bead earring.

The back ground for these collages is something I just got, and I treated myself to a stack of them before listing some in the Boutique. Sometimes, I tend to sell the best things I find instead of keeping them for myself.

This one features a frame that I'd been holding back on using.

The frame is something that I've had for at least 10 years. Now what the heck was I thinking???? Why would I buy something like that and leave it in a cabinet? Sometimes things get set aside, just waiting for the right project that never comes along. And it will just sit neglected in a drawer or closet, out of sight, out of mind. Just because I thought it was too good to use when I first bought it.

Is it too late to make a New Year's resolution? If not, then, mine is to dig through my cabinets and rediscover hidden treasures. And USE THEM.

Like this key hole that I found in a drawer today.

Uhm, did I mention that I was productive today? And inspired!

If you've embraced the challenge and have been brave enough to dig into your Good Stuff too, I hope that you will add your link to this post so you can flaunt your efforts.

We all know that it isn't easy to use "the best" and if you've read any of the comments I've been getting on the subject, you'll know that many of us suffer from this. We buy amazing things to create with and then are loathe to do it. Our hands shake, and our forehead breaks out in sweat beads when we reach for that perfect, faded rose, or we try to cut into that length of hand made lace.

But sometimes, you gotta just go for it. A good piece of art deserves are best supplies in it. That note book I covered wouldn't be nearly the same in scrapbook paper, as it is in that beautiful, old, rosey wallpaper.

And I find there is a lot of joy in using the besties. I hope you've found that joy too!

So, here is what you do to join in our link party.

Show your challenge project on your blog (or flickr or facebook, or whatever you use)
Click on the title of your post, and copy that URL into Mr Linky, not the URL of your blog.
Add your link to the bottom of my post where it says, "Click here to enter"
Please add my blog address to your post so people can come and visit all the participant's blogs.
If you want a chance to win a "Good Stuff Prize Pack" from me or from Mrs. Staggs, please leave a comment on my blog for mine and visit her for her rules.
You can use this button if you'd like to