vintage paper/collage art – Page 26

Twinkle’s shameful secret???

celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, family, Food and Drink, parties, Sugarwings, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / April 14, 2010

Aren't they sweet? Yorkies are always born black with tan, like an itty bitty Doberman. You don't know until they shed their puppy hair and their adult coat grows in if they will be silver or black. Those are the only accepted colors for this breed. Sometimes as babies, they have a little white patch on their chest, but it turns tan or blond as they get older. There is not supposed to be any white on a full grown Yorky.

So, imagine our surprise when we saw this! My first thought was, "Twinkle, you dirty girl, what have you been doing? Sneaking out the windows at night after your family is asleep???"

This pup does NOT look like a Yorkshire Terrier at all! I've heard that a litter of pups can have different fathers for each baby, but she was not unsupervised at all, and Teddy is her only man.

After checking with Teddy's family to be sure they didn't have a beagle or some other spotted male hanging around, I surfed the web and read about Parti Colored Yorkies. These colored dogs are controversial and not very common. Looks like some people are purposely breeding them as designer dogs, but I don't think they are recognized by the AKC even though they are full blooded Yorkshire Terriers, they don't meed the breed standards.

They can turn up in a litter if both parents have the recessive gene for this abnormal color.

Here is a picture I snagged from one of the Parti-colored dog breeder's sites. I think they are just cute as a bug, and am excited to have one of these little "special" guys!

Yorkies have the funniest, goofiest, sweetest personalities. And there is something about the way they look at me with that silly expression on their face when they want to tell me something, that first made me tell one of our dogs that she was acting like a dork. Since then, I've always called them Dorkies.

I raise well loved, socialized, cuddled and nurtured babies. They aren't show dogs, they are pet quality dogs, and I do my best to give them a head start on being a wonderful pet. Lots of attention, lots of varied experiences. They play outside, they play with kids, they play with cats, they spend every day with me in the studio while I work, and are about as social and ready to face the world as any pup can be.

(Another pic from that breeder's site)

So, I don't mind that our parti boy isn't to breed standards on color. I don't expect any of my dogs to win any trophies. But I do expect them to adore their new owners and be great companions.

I have a feeling that this parti boy will get tons of extra attention and cuddles and be an even better dog than most of my babies. And I sure hope Twinkle forgives me for calling her a dirty girl.

Plus, we LOVE parties around here. So a parti pup is right up my ally. And we don't mind showing some individuality. He'll fit right in here at the Cottage!!

Our Cupcake and Tea Party was a blast yesterday. As soon as the pups are big enough for company, I'm going to throw another one, and make sure all the puppies get held and played with by the kids.

Sugarwings had a good time at the party. Since we were in the studio, she slipped over to her art table and did a little painting before coming to the table to create her cupcake. Funny, she worked so hard on making it beautiful, she didn't care a bit about eating it. A true artist!!

I'll have more party pictures and more puppy ones too, later on. For now, I need to go see who was voted off on Idol. That show is getting better, I'm glad I didn't give up on it earlier in the season.

Before I run, I wanted to let you know that Peat Pot Pretty C
harlotte Fairy kits are available in the Boutique now. As well as a new shipment of Charlottes!

A so-so redo

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), flowers, redos, vintage paper/collage art, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / April 7, 2010

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! Our little fairy baby is feeling better, but now we are dealing with trying to convince her that she really needs to take her yucky medicine twice a day for 7 days. I gave her the dropper and a glass of water to play with and that has helped. After giving herself pretend medicine for a while, she is not fighting us as much when we try to squirt the real stuff into her mouth.

My big pile of giveaways from last week are in the mail, hopefully at their new homes by now. The Peat Pot Pretty in the front went to Dawn. The one in the back is listed in the Boutique, and a third one is a giveaway for the first 150 sign ups I get on the Google Friend Connect on the sidebar of my blog. If you want a chance to win one, just add your name. Thanks!

Did you notice that this is not the peat pot pictured in the giveaway post at the top of my blog? I made up a special "nest" pot for Dawn, complete with some fluffy, downy feathers.

No pups yet! Look at that belly. She must have about 20 packed away in there. (not really, she had 6 last time and that was a lot for a dog her size)

You know, I have never claimed to be a math whiz, but you'd think that even I could count 62 days from Feb. 6th to figure out when the babies are due. I was a week off, she isn't due yet. I feel a bit foolish about it, but Twinks is really disapointed, that dog is worn out and ready.

Have you ever done a makeover and then wondered why the heck you bothered? I got an itch to repaint these chairs, but am not happy with the white now. I just dry brushed the white on, for a rustic feel, but I wonder if I'd like them better if I'd spray painted them nice and solid. And green. But- I've been thinking about repainting the French doors blue, that would be better than the red. Nothing seems to go together anymore, when the chairs were black, it all tied in just fine. What I'd really like, is a porch swing… But I wonder if we'd break the window in the door with one?

This Spring weather got me antsy to make a change, and adding a few pansies to the planters in front of my studio was not enough, but painting the chairs didn't do it either. Doing that just makes the porch look like it really, really needs some redoing now. Durn it. And I don't feel like I have the time to complete it right now.

In the past, I've been called a Serial Painter. I couldn't leave my
house alone, was constantly repainting rooms. But since we've had
Sugarwings, and I discovered blog surfing… well, I've slowed down on
the redos, my days seem full already. I'm sure that I could find the time to repaint the French doors blue and add some blue hydrangeas to the shutters so it would match, and now, I'll just have to squeeze it in somehow.

I did find time to add a few little things to Etsy as well as to the Boutique.

This is a note paper holder that I foofed with some of my favorite old wallpaper. Its made like a book, and comes with a stack of paper and a tiny pencil. Its not old-old, but its not new either. I'd say late 60s. I've made it look older with the coverings and velvet ribbons.

Wouldn't it be a cute storage box once the note paper was used up? I could see keeping a little art journal or diary in it… Speaking of which, I told you about Hope's journaling classes the other day, but since it was Easter weekend, I was worried no one saw it. She is GOOD, I love her work, if you are interested in learning about keeping an art journal, she's the person to learn from.

Shadowboxes, buddies, and tagging along plus 4- count ’em FOUR giveaways at once!

fairies, flowers, give away, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 31, 2010

This week is craft-o-licious! Beth came by all day Sunday and we had so much fun chatting and gluing and cutting that we forgot to even have lunch till 4pm. Then, on Tuesday, the regular crowd of snippers and gluers came by to hang out and have an Italian themed pitch in lunch. No way we'd forget to eat that meal, it was excellent.

Usually we all bring whatever we feel like making that day, but we tried a little something different this time and had a group project. Vicki has designed these shadow boxes and sent some for us to play with.

At the end of the day, there was plenty of oohing and awing. Vicki had also included collage sheets to use, and most of us used those plus a mix of vintage goodies we already had.

Clockwise these are done by:

all of us, Shawn (who made the lasagna!), me, Mary, Beth. I'm sad that I didn't get a good photo of Marilyn's hers was impressive. There are photos on her blog of all of them, you can see her masterpiece there.

Shawn's daughter, Bethany, bonded with Sugarwings over the jelly bean dispenser in the treat cabinet. Little Bethany has been part of the craft group since we started, but Sugarwings is a wild crafter and I get nothing done after she joins us in the afternoon, so she isn't there for the whole day.

Beth left her Cuttlebug with me on Sunday and I might have gotten a bit carried away making tags from old papers with it….

But what a great use of scraps! Plus, these will be wonderful to make into tag books, and to tie to packages I send out with orders from the Boutique.

One tag book is already done, and ready to list in the shop.

Its not listed yet, but if someone wants it before then, please contact me, its $20.

And here are all the giveaways I tantalized you with in the title:

1- Today is the last day to enter for the March Giveaway, a rose quartz and china shard pendant. All comments all month, any post are entered.

2 & 3- If you sign up to be my Google Friend, you are entered to win a prize, I am giving away two Peat Pot Pretties with vintage flowers. (details in the sticky post at the top)

4- We have one extra shadowbox from Vicki that I will offer to someone who leaves a comment on THIS post. Thanks, Vicki!! These things are really cute.

5- And hey, is this #5?? Yep, Officially, the April Giveaway starts at midnight tonight. And I'll do my best to announce what it will be soon, instead of forgetting till the 20th or so…

Doubling the bribe to get you to be my deer friend, sign up to win!

magazine pictures or articles, Silver Bella, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 28, 2010

This is who greeted me this morning when I got up. She was looking right in the studio window at me, waiting patiently for me to go and get my camera. She didn't stick around long, after stripping all the bark from my shrubs, she moved on. Now, with 10 acres of woods right behind us, why does this young lady keep returning to my roses???

She (or one of her buddies) gnawed my potted topiary down to a nub. I don't have much hope for it returning when Spring finally gets here.

Speaking of dear friends, my buddy, Gwen, landed a spot on the cover of Somerset Life with her bottles. My fun friend, Tiffany took the photo at Silver Bella and another pal, Lori wrote the article. The whole magazine is chocked full of bloggy friends, and I was extra pleased to see so many people that I've met at Silver Bella.

And while still on the buddy topic, THANKS to those who joined my Google Friend Connect on the side bar below the row of flowers.

I think I'll extend the bribery for buddies and add another Peat Pot Pretty to the sweeten the pot. Sign up to be my friend and I'll enter you to win one of these two pots.

You know I like presents! And I also like my bloggy friends. Thanks for
always being a click away when I need to hear from someone. Its been
an roller coaster week around here and I appreciate the well wishes. I
won't go into detail on all the dramas and worries.

But there is plenty
of good stuff too, so I'll be sharing that with you later on.

My button filled vintage test tubes are in Somerset Life too. Its always such a pleasure to be included with the artists in this publication!

Funny, I'd forgotten I had a stash of these vials set aside. When the magazine came, I pulled them out and listed them in the Boutique. ($10 each)

It was a nice surprise to see a "Thanks" that I'd sent in with my work featured in the magazine. If you have ordered anything from my shop, you might have noticed that I really enjoy packing things pretty. And it doesn't have to be fancy, or over the top, sometimes the simplest things are the sweetest.

Well, if you ordered anything from me when I first got started, and haven't since, you don't know what I mean. It took me a while to find my style and to really start enjoying the wrapping process. I have an area set aside in the studio for packaging, but I still rummage around the room looking for fun little tidbits to use as accents here and there. My early packages were not so pretty…. and hopefully they are even now improving as I go.

I do reuse and recycle the peanuts, bubble wrap, envelopes, and boxes- that is important to me. Hopefully, once you get past all the scribbled over old addresses and labels, and get your order opened up, you'll like the way I've presented it.

It makes me happy to do, and I like to think it makes the buyer smile when she opens it.

Party prep

antiques/junking, Books, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, I do tend to run on, don't I?, jewelry, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, vintage paper/collage art, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / March 25, 2010

We are counting down the days till puppy time, poor Twinks looks about ready to pop! She still has some time to go, and it looks like she is going to spend those days resting.

The whole time I am in the studio, she curls up in this dog carrier/purse. She barely fits anymore, and I'd hate to have to sling it over my shoulder with her (and that tummy full of pups) in it at this point.

It was given to her when she was a puppy herself by a friend, and I used to carry her around in it. It has become her dog bed under my work table. Now that her birthing time is getting closer, she rarely leaves the bag.

Or maybe she just hides in it to escape the chaotic mess that my studio has become?? I feel like hiding when I look at it too. I have two craft days and an Easter Egg party coming up, one tomorrow, so I might need to rent a back hoe to clean this quickly.

Here is something I have learned about having a nice, big studio to work in.

THE MORE TABLES I SET UP, THE MORE STUFF I LEAVE OUT.

Its really sad, because I enjoy having a pretty place to work in, and I'd never let my house get to this point. My home always looks lived in, but not scary like the studio. I like things pretty and peaceful. But out here, things just pile, and pile, and pile. Till I force myself to do something about it.

I knew I'd let it go too far when Sugarwings lectured me about covering up her Play Doh table with packing materials. We talk a lot about her not messing with my stuff, and I was in the wrong to over flow into her area. And I sure heard about it too.

It may look like utter chaos, but there really is a working order to it… at least that is what I tell myself. I'm sure that is what all the people on "Hoarders" say to themselves too.

So, today, I've spent the morning clearing away the last of the Alice themed goods. I've listed the remaining 4 tag covers (I think I'd made about 100!) in the Boutique and all of the materials I used while working on the tags and books are stowed away.

Then, I finished up making Peat Pot Pretties with Charlotte fairies from all of those materials that were still out. I've listed these two and have a few more to photograph. Soon, I hope to gather up what I need to make up the kits that you have asked for to make your own. Maybe after I face the taxes….

There was a big pile of flea market finds that I was trying to get photographed and listed, and that is done now too.

The trouble with cleaning up, is that I can't just put things away. I have to finish up whatever I had them out for in the first place. And use up the scraps. So, of course, when I come across something like an old candy box that was torn, I had to make tags out of it. If I'd packed it away, then it would have just become clutter and would have looked like I was saving torn up trash. Then, I really would have felt like a Hoarder!

So, I made tags from the box. And took photos, and listed them. (I'm patting myself on the back big time over that) I used tidbits laying around on my desk. That is such a much more fun way to clean than to just pack it all away. Plus, its a challenge to limit myself to using what is on the desk, not getting anything new out.

And then, when I get to the place when there is not much left to use on the desk, I can get back to the rest of the clean up.

I'm kind of looking forward to it. I have all day and all night by myself, till as late as I'd like to stay out here and putter and clean. I'll watch the Idol results and Runway while I work and eat granola bars for dinner.

Although, so far, this season of each has been kind of blah to me… Still a fan, but just not as excited about either this time around. I'm still hanging on to LOST too, but I kind of feel like every time they give us one of the so called, promised "answers" its still a question. So, is Richard right, is the island Hell, or was that just his way of seeing it, because of his background??

And please remember, if you want a chance to win this month's giveaway- the shard and rose quartz pendant, you can leave a comment on any post, you don't have to go back to the one where I ann
ounced the MARCH GIVEAWAY.

Okay, back to work for me. But first a quick trip to the PO and the gym.

The Tiniest Dancers

antiques/junking, celebrations, fairies, family, parties, Sugarwings, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 23, 2010

When I found these teeny little ballerinas, I was just charmed by them. At barely an inch, they are just as dainty and sweet as can be. I didn't get many of them, just a few to add to the shop along with some of their big sisses, and a few for me to use too.

It was a girly day for the Boutique. I added fairies, ballerinas, Charlottes and Alices.

Don't you just love the badly painted faces of the OLD cake topper ballerinas? So ugly they are cute.

This shipment of Charlottes is of all eensy weensy little girls. Each is every bit as dainty as that tiny ballerina, at about 1 inch long.

I scrubbed at a couple to see if the dirt comes off, and most of it will. But I am leaving it on, in case the new owner likes "patina" as much as I do.

They are just so tiny and sweet.

Kind of like these two, the sweetest little dancers ever.

We had a little tea party so Pixie Pie and Sugarwings could open the gifts that were sent to them by Debra Ganas. They loved them!! Thanks, Debra!!

Sugarwings loves her cuddly dog. But I made a mistake in my Swap Book notes and only wrote down that there was a gift for Sugarwings next to the giver's name, not what it was, because it wasn't open at the time. So, I won't know what is from who!

How rude of me. I'm sorry.

She has a couple more to open, and tomorrow is my Sugarwings Day, so she and I will spend some time enjoying the thoughtfulness of the givers.

You know that feeling after a holiday, or big event when all of a sudden, its over and you wonder what you are going to do with your time? That is kind of how I am feeling right now, I miss the Alice Tag Book Swap!

So, today I made up a book of my own tags, plus a few kits if anyone would like to make a book.

Drink Me

Books, magazine pictures or articles, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 14, 2010

There was another little glitch with the tag books. I think these bottles are too fragile just to tie on the books! So, I spent time wrapping each one up in bubble wrap, then in pretty paper. I'll slip them into the bubble mailers with the books, and I'm afraid all the swappers will need to tie them on their own books. Its just safer that way.

It has been such fun making the books! I made up most of them yesterday. Today and tomorrow is the packing and labeling. Trouble is, they are so pretty, that I have to stop and look at each one again and again as I wrap them. Of course no two are alike, that is what makes it so interesting. I just wish you could see all the books together.

Some of the tags still haven't arrived in the mail yet, so what I'll do is finish the ones that are here and the latecomers will all be swapped with each other.

So this first "wave" of books will be sent out tomorrow. More the next few days. I simply don't have the concentration level to do all the packing, then all the mailing, so I need to break it up. I'm doing about 20 packages at a time, then starting on the next 20. I'll get to the PO each day to drop off a boxful, instead of waiting till all are done.

Feel free to go ahead and post photos on your blog (plus flickr) if yours comes early! We all want to see the finished books.

As promised, here are a few photos of the house from the day Carol was here. Now, her pictures are top of the line, done with a camera that costs more than a whole roomful of my furniture (of course, everything I own is from garage sales, so lets make that a couple roomsful of furniture at least!)

These photos are from my camera, which I love to pieces, but it sure doesn't compare with hers.

They are for Somerset Home. Hopefully. I hate to jinx myself, because you never know with a magazine until the type is set!

For the shoot and for the baby shower we had last week, I "made" a new table cloth. There was so much going on in the table settings, that I wanted something a bit more toned down.

So, I cut a square of burlap a bit smaller than a vintage crocheted cloth that I usually use. No sewing, I just layered the two.First, I put the burlap in the dryer with a wet cloth and a fabric softener sheet, to take the stiffness out. All I had to do after that was pull a few threads to fringe the edges and layer the burlap over the lacy cloth.

We did photos in the living room, dining room, and kitchen, and I focused the story on using ephemera in your home.The article should be out in August.

But like I said, you never know until you see it in print if it is a go or not!! I've got a few articles dangling around out there still unpublished. One is of my bedroom and another was done at Christmas a few years back at a Victorian mansion. Maybe they'll turn up someday, maybe not.

Ooops, I lied. This little metal table is not 2nd hand! I got it at a garden center on 75% clearance at the end of the season.

Everything here but the Gothic arch window are from garage sales. The alabaster lamp was only a few bucks and the chairs were $100. The arch is from my favorite antique store Rusty Chandelier and was a major splurge at $150. More than I paid for the couch.

Another non junk store or garage sale purchase in the room is my TV cabinet. Sorry, no picture. It was a scratch and dent piece from a furniture store that I repainted once I got it home.So yes, Carol's camera is worth a lot more than this room full of furniture and the dining room as well (that table and chairs was $600 from a friend's consignment shop)

Twinkle was hilarious all day while Carol was there. That dog never gave up on posing as long as Carol had the camera out.

We humored her and took a few pictures of her. Carol has a good one on her blog now. You can see what I mean about how good her camera is! And not just the camera, she's got mad skills.

Oh Baby, Baby! Twice the fun as just one.

celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, Food and Drink, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / March 10, 2010

Surprise! Today is a surprise baby shower for our sweet as can be, friend, Andrea. She is expecting a little sister for her two boys.

So, a group of us are helping her celebrate by sending her some hand made girly gifts to Hope, who lives near Andrea and is gathering all the presents and surprising her with a shower.

My gift is a little cartoon painting of her two sons as elves, holding a newborn fairy girl.

Its done in watercolor with ink. And I added some pearl paint to the baby sister's wings, with a hint of glitter.

Her gift was sent wrapped in vintage paper, and I used very little tape, so she could reuse it for a project. Don't you hate getting some cool old paper and having it ruined by the tape?

Here is a section of the paper that you can click on to enlarge if you'd like to print it to use.

Please visit the other shower "guests" and see what pretties they have made! Here's a list of who is attending the shower today.

And of course, what is a baby shower without some yummy treats? I made a carrot cake up for yet another baby shower. Tuesday, we celebrated Shawn's upcoming addition with a Craft Day Baby Shower Tea Party at my cottage.

As a surprise, I made a fairy picture of Shawn's daughter, Bethany holding a new baby brother.

We really wanted an Alice theme for our tea party, but since I had the photo shoot the day before, my time was short. I was able to make a mini effort to Alice up the table. The party favors were little Charlotte babies that came along with a pig picture cut out of a vintage book. Since Alice was holding a bundled baby that turned into a pig.

And I cut out little "drink me" notes to put by all the tea cups.

Beth was the Mad Hatter (or Russel f
rom Survivor?) and I was the March Hare.

Shawn and Bethany came with Rabbit Ears too.

Shawn has more photos of the day here.
Shawn's baby is due after Twinkle's babies are coming, so I told everyone we had to squeeze in one more craft day and make it a baby shower for Twinks. (if you live nearby and want to come, let me know!)

For Shawn's gift, we bought her an album and each created a page for it. Her husband is an aquarium enthusiast, so I thought that a fish theme would be good for my page. I made a pocket out of watercolor paper that I painted like to look like water, with little purple fishies in it. I cut out fish shaped tags for her to glue photos to, and slid them into the pocket.

Next, I painted some colorful fish and grasses on watercolor paper and cut them out to glue onto the pocket for a 3-D effect.

For the back side of my page, I used sparkle scrapbook paper over reversible scrap book paper that I folded into a pocket page. I do like pockets in photo albums. The little card with the old fashioned baby picture opens up, so that Shawn can add a small picture there too.

But that isn't all the babies, or all the gifts! Our other friend, Holly, is expecting her 3rd son. I wanted to send a little something to her and since I am on a Charlotte roll, I thought I'd use one of them. Although her child is a boy, so we won't say Charlotte, we'll say Charles.

The carriage is made from a box that I have cut down and covered in flocked wallpaper, then lined with white velvet, and trimmed with ruffled ribbon. The wheels are mother-of-pearl buttons.

And geez, as if this post wasn't already long enough, I need to let you know that I've restocked the crown rings in my Boutique.

Also, I will be emailing everyone who asked me to save a Peat Pot Pretty with Fairy for them, and will have a couple left to add to the shop too. Thanks so much!

And congratulations, Andrea, Shawn, Holly, and Twinkle on this spring's new crop of little ones!

Peat Pot Pretties with Fairies

fairies, magazine pictures or articles, parties, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 6, 2010

Not all of the Charlottes went into my Boutique for sale, I kept a bowlful for myself. And I do have more on order, but have not been able to find them as dirt cheap as I did last time. I found a decent price and will still be able to sell them to you at a price you will like, but probably not one so cheap that I sell over 100 of them in a matter of hours…

I'll let you know as soon as they arrive, and will probably sell them in sets, since everyone bought more than one. (Its easier for calculating postage that way.)

They certainly are a fun little supply to have in the studio. I have plenty of plans for Charlotting up some projects. For now, I am making Fairy Pots. To each, I am adding a flag with the name of a guest for my Baby Shower Tea Party Craft Day on Tuesday. I will set a potted fairy in front of each plate as a place card.

Each little fairy girl has been dressed in vintage millinery flower petals to make a skirt. I've added hand made, sheet music wings and "planted" her into a little peat pot. No two are alike, but I've stayed with a white, rusty brown, and cream palette. A couple have some faded pink, like this one.

The little pots are collaged in pages from old books. Lisa sent me some fairy pages that were just perfect, and I've added some other elderly text too. I've sugared and inked the pots after gluing on the paper.

When I decoupage, I never use Mod Podge. That stuff just isn't good in the Midwest, seems like in July, anything that it has been used on feels sticky. For this, I used Elmer's.

Then, I've topped off the pot with curly moss and bunches of flowers plucked from my old hats.

These pots will be part of the photo shoot I am doing on Monday with my buddy, Carol. Then, I'm doing double duty by having a party the next day and just keeping the table set overnight, which works out perfectly since we don't have little Sugarwings on Monday night. If we did, there is no way I could pull off having a table set for a tea party and not letting her in on it! She'd be insulted.

After Tuesday, these peat pot pretties will be for sale. If you'd like me to reserve one for you ($25 plus shipping) please let me know. I can write whatever name you would like on the flag. Or maybe just "Spring" or "Fairies", or "Welcome"?

When I get started on something its hard to stop, so there are about a dozen of these. Plus, this was my last arty project that I needed for the photo shoot, and I knew that when I was done with these, it would be time to clean the house. It was much more fun to play with Sweet Charlottes than to tackle cobwebs and wax floors.

Ugh. I'm off to clean. Sugarwings is here to help me, we pretend to be Snow White cleaning up after those 7 messy little dwarfs. That helps a bit. Although it is a bit disturbing when she keeps repeating, "Dirty, dirty, dwarf." Somethings not quite right about that.

Good Goodies

Books, give away, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 4, 2010

The Alice Tags are starting to arrive at my doorstep, and it gets more fun every day! Not only are we getting some gorgeous tags for our books, I'm blown away by some of the packaging too. Like Samantha Miranda's tags wrapped in a sweet hankie, and including some chocolate bunnies! She and I had similar ideas, about Alice and the small door opening but we each had different takes on the theme. Aren't hers pretty?

Some thoughtful gifts came too, which was a nice surprise, especially after the week I've had. How can I be feeling down and yucky after opening all of this?

These are from Suzanne Crowley, and the box smelled lovely, from the gift of verbana soaps she included! I'm saving all the tissue paper that she used, it has the scent of flowers on it, and will make packages I send out smell wonderful too. (I try to recycle as much as I possibly can, and this time it will be a joy to do!) Look at how she has made Alice hang out over the edge of the card. I love it when people "color outside of the lines".

Suzanne also sent a fluffy pet for Sugarwings, and a towel set to go with the pretty soaps. To top it all off, everything was tied with soft old ribbons and hand made crepe paper flowers.

Kitty, who I've had the pleasure of meeting when I went to PA to visit her daughter, Heather, (and who is just as talented as that girl of hers) sent these. She included gorgeous, vanilla velvet ribbon wrapped up and packaged in an old album mat, then pinned with hat pins she made with crystal beads.

And this loveliness is from Laurie. Along with her pastel Alice tags- look at how cute that doily is!- was this Cottage sheet music and pink rose wallpaper!

The colorful bunch of tags are from Karen. She also made stationary set with the images she used on the tags.

I repeat- blown away! Thanks, ladies!

Yep, some very pretty things are showing up at my doorstep. I can't show you all of the tags that come in, but here is a Flickr site if you'd like to see what everyone is making. So far, we have 22 members, I hope that more of the 80 swappers will add their photos. Yes, I did let the number GROW again. Very much like Alice eating the cake, the swap grew, and grew, and grew.

These tags are from my Sissy. All of that red is very fine glitter, I wish it showed up better in the photo.

You can see the glitter better here. She has great little details in her tags, like the vintage crown charms hanging from heart shaped punch outs.

Now, you'd think that was enough mail excitement for any one person, but look at these! Vicki sent me a passle of her Shadow Box frames with fairy collage sheets. I'm going to have a craft day party with these and we can all see what we come up with. Won't they be fun to play with?

My photo shoot with Carol is rescheduled for Monday and I have not done ONE THING for it yet. I woke up today, again thinking I was fit and happy and ready to face the world. Then, I started to droop.

Ignoring my droopiness, I thought I'd try to clean up and foof the living room, but after dropping and breaking a couple of things, I gave up. But I knew that there was no way on Earth I could face another day of bed and TV.

So I took myself
off to the salon to get some new hair, as Sugarwings calls it. I figured that sitting in the beauty shop chair would get me out of the house, dressed, and maybe perked up. I know myself well enough to realize that if I'd stayed home, I wouldn't be resting, I'd be working, whether I was up to it or not.

Plus, being so sick from just the flu made me feel extremely OLD. Some highlights to hide the gray helped a bit. I'd probably feel less old if I wasn't so tired.

Before I forget, I need to announce the winner of the February Giveaway, the Alice Tag Kit.

Here is the sweet comment left by:

Pattyjo

I would love to win the giveaway…so I am hoping you will add my name
in the hat! Thank you for your blog and all the gorgeous projects you
show us. It must take so much of your time. I think I can speak for
most everyone on your blog that we appreciate it so much!
Pattyjo

Now, I really need to sit at the desk and get out the glue and paper to make a few small projects for Monday.
Wish me luck on being ready for the photo shoot! I'll need it.