Here’s looking at you, kid!

antiques/junking, Etsy Goodies, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 17, 2009

Hmm, I don't know if you can tell from this photo, but the puppies have opened their eyes! For some reason, I was thinking they weren't due to be looking back at us yet, so I was surprised when Sugarwings held one up and said "he can see me!" She was pretty excited to be the first to notice, but up till now, she had been worried because the puppies wouldn't look at her.

Probably because, in this house, that is all we do is, Look At Sugarwings. Its our favorite pastime.

Although, lately, another regular pastime of mine is cursing at Papashop. That is the web hosting site for my new online store, and my friends have been over-the-top helpful in setting it up, and I can see where it will be really easy to use once I get it fine tuned. But— I keep finding glitches. I thought I was ready to open and discovered that I had NO LIMITS on my inventory. If a shopper wanted to order 1,500 of a one of a kind option, there was no stopping them. Not that I get those kind of sales…. maybe a more reasonable illustration would be that if a shopper wanted to order TWO of a one of a kind item, I couldn't stop them.

This is an item that I have three of, one is listed. Since I can't open my shop yet, I figured I should tell you about it here. So many people have inquired about the swap tags, that I made up a kit with the copies of the ones I made.

The kit includes 6 of the collage/painted tags copied onto card stock and then their backs were covered in vintage wallpaper. Two red flocked, two pink flocked, and two rose patterned.

Snippets of wallpaper scraps, some ephemera, lots of rick rack, ribbons and bows, three sprigs of old millinery blooms, and a scattering of vintage buttons are included too.

Plenty of pretties to deck out the tags and make your own Puppy Love Tag Book if you didn't get into the swap. Or, if you are a swapper, these would be fun to add to your book and double the size of it!

The kits are $25 each (plus postage. Postage is free if the kit goes out in the mail with a completed swap book to a fellow swapper) and as I said, only 3 available. If you are interested, please contact me by email. I can't open my web boutique yet, but hopefully will soon! I have other Valentine's goodies there too!

Like this piece. It has a pink flocked heart on it, so it would be nice to have for sale by Valentines Day! I'm sure I'll be able to get the store figured out. Heather and Beth have been so kind and have taken so much time to give me advice. I'll let you know when I have my GRAND OPENING.

Heather and Beth aren't my only generous friends! Two Puppy Love Swapper's packages have arrived and Samantha Miranda sent coloring cards for Sugarwings and Dove chocolates! Ruth Flowers sent marvelous ephemera die cuts. Thanks, ladies!! And by the way, both of you both are so lucky to have those names. Don't they just roll off the tongue? Samantha Miranda…Ruth Flowers…. how pretty.

This photo should make you wish that you were one of the 65 people in the swap! Aren't these tags that Samantha sent in just beautiful!? (Ruth's are too, but my photo didn't turn out. Ruth, I know you wanted photos I'll get some to you when the light is better)

Hopefully, the swappers will be adding their photos to the flickr site so we can all see their creations…

I'll leave you with a couple photos from an antique show today. I met Carol there, and Beth had a booth, so I took her some treats. I have pictures of Donny and Sandy's booths, but they don't have blogs, although Carol and I tried to tell the Fabulous Donny that he needs one!!

Tagging along

antiques/junking, Books, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), paintings, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 13, 2009

How is that for some puppy love? At this point the little princesses are mostly sleeping and eating. They curl up and they cry for mama and that is about it.

Beth came by to help with my website today, and we spent some time cuddling the puppies, although at first she thought they were too tiny to hold. But these little guys enjoy being held and Twinks doesn't seem to mind.

Although, she certainly doesn't take her eyes off of them once we pick them up! I could tell she was a devoted mother, when she went out to potty yesterday and a rabbit ran right in front of her. Instead of taking off like a shot into the woods to get tangled in cockle burrs, thinking that she might just catch the wascal this time, she simply turned around and came to the door to be let back in to her babies. Not even a glance over her shoulder to see where it might have gone to.

Worrying about your kids can sure take precedence over other things, that is for sure.

Luckily, at this point, my kids are doing well, so I can worry about tags! 60 some tags. Now that is a lot of worrying.

As I was blog hopping (instead of making tags) the other day, I saw a pretty hand painted tag by Suzanne Duda and used her idea as inspiration. I added hand painted designs to the vintage papers of the one on the right, and then added a bit of old papers to the painted roses on the tag on the left.

I think this one is my fave, though. I painted a floral heart wreath directly onto an old photo and added the words to the top.

And this one is about half and half, with some flocked wallpaper as a heart. I'm copying them all and then embellishing the copies with millinery blooms, lace, ribbons, glittery ink, etc. That sure helps me toward my goal of 60 plus.

This one is a copy I made of one of the painted tags. I think they copy well. I added lace and glittery ink in accents, then covered the back in wallpaper. By the time they get uber-foofed with charms and ribbons when tied onto the books, I think they will look fine.

Today's mail brought some sweetness from Sugar Sugar.

What a nice surprise from Analise!

Beth spent the day here in the studio with me, we worked on swap pages and website stuff, with a LOT of help emailed to us from Heather. Now, I am getting ready to head out the door and go see a movie with some friends. Looks like "Slumdog Millionaire" did great at the Golden Globes the other night, I am looking forward to seeing it. Last night, I went to see "Benjamin Button" and can't stop thinking about it. Maybe it is too soon to go see another flick, since the one last night was so good, my thought are still lingering on it.

Nah- its never too soon to go to another movie!! My idea of a great afternoon, is to see a double (or Triple!) feature.

So, before I head out, I'll leave you with a few pictures of this beautiful little book I bought in St. Joe the other day. It is signed and dedicated in 1922. I really appreciate those little written introductions in old books that were given as gifts years ago.

Oops, puppies everywhere in this house!!

Time to add the Buttons

antiques/junking, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 11, 2009

Thanks to all of you who joined my Valentine Tag Book Swap! We are at 50 right now, so unless I have communicated with you about joining and we haven't gotten back together about it yet, it is too late to join.

Or, if you have commented that you wanted to join and haven't heard back, please email me. I have some trouble with TypePad at times and can't always return comments. One that got returned to me was from Carrie, and I have no way of contacting her.

I've added this button to my side bar. If you are in the swap, please grab this and add it to yours too! Thanks for being a part of it all. Now, I just need to go and whip up about 50 tag covers….

Time does have a way of getting away from me- especially when I blow a day by going shopping and not working.

But shopping IS working for me, not just recreation. All these old watches will make gorgeous necklaces! The other goodies will be wonderful things to take to Miss Frenchie's April in Paris sale this spring.

Not the trims, though. Those were a gift from Beth (who was my partner in playing hooky for the day). She gave them to me to use in my new obsession to "Pearl Up" my home, after reading the Magnolia Pearl book.

Beth also made this pile of tags for me with her cuddle bug and a deck of cards. I'll make use of many of them in the swap book covers. Especially ones that have hearts on the backside!

Red isn't typically my color. I bypass it at Christmas, but at Valentines, I get sucked in by juicy redness. Especially when I see such a sweet baby doll dress with tiny flocked, dotted Swiss style hearts on it!! (I wish it fit Sugarwings)

I know I am not the only one who enjoys a splash of red for February, so if you'd rather have ruby tones for the blog swap button, please help yourself to this one.

My hat-whispering skills weren't focused during our jaunt to St. Joe to visit Jesse James Antique Mall and The Rusty Chandelier. (both worth the almost 2 hour trip). But I snagged a couple of flowery concoctions. Man, the one on the bottom left is just asking to be ripped apart. Some hats are so pretty as they are, that I don't take them apart until I need a specific bloom from it, but this one is just plain awful as is. Like some sort of smooshed up wedding bouquet made by a blind florist. Who designed this? It is one of every kind of flower, in each color, with no rhyme or reason to the placement. But good for me, because, did I mention- one of every kind of flower? Beautiful to use in other projects!

These grocery store price tags are nicely aged. But what I like about them is the holders. Can't you picture them as place card holders? I just can't wait for my next fairy tea party!!

This throw was found at the Rusty Chandelier too, it isn't all antiques. This isn't exactly new, but far from old. I fell for it, because of the soft, plush velvet and the metallic bronze vines that go so well with the ones I painted on the ceiling.

And see the blue rhinestone? They are scattered across the vines, and match the room perfectly! Nothing like a little sprinkle of added sparkle.

For those of you who needed a puppy fix, here's one of the teeny tiny babies. For those of you who are already tired of me posting dog photos everyday, we'll just pretend this is a picture of the blanket I bought.

Tag Book Swap samples

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 10, 2009

After Sugarwings went to bed last night, I made up a sample tag book to show you. Many were wondering what they would be like when finished. Well, no two will be just the same, of course, but this will give you an idea.

The 7 tags that I made last night will all be used as covers on the swapper's books. (sorry about photo quality, my better –not good, like my longed for Cannon Rebel, but better than this- camera is out in the car and my husband drove off to take Sugarwings to her Hippy Chick Mommy's house.)

This is the back side of my 7 tags. Notice one isn't covered? I will ink it up a bit, but not all tags have to be finished on each side, that is the swapper's choice.

Also, note that the tags are similar sized, but not exact? I tried to make a variety of sizes for the sample book, so you'd get an idea of how varied the actual book will be. With so many artists participating, it will be a potpourri of sizes and shapes. Just as long as you stay near the target size, you'll be fine with your tag.

Just as I expected, this swap was a good jump start for me. January is a sluggish craft time for me every year. I have lots of things coming up that need to be planned and worked on, but I simply wasn't facing any of it. Plus, it was all vague, out there, in the future stuff.

Committing myself to possible dozens of tag book covers, well, that got me going. And I have noticed in my life, that the more I do, the more I WANT to do. If I get away from my studio for a few weeks, like I just did over Christmas and New Years, I need a push to return. Then, I am firmly lodged in there and can't be removed.

Good timing for me, my sweetheart is leaving for Virginia today. He will be gone 12 days, so I needed a project to do while he was gone. Since October, we have been together pretty much all the time. He has been able to work here from Kansas, or I have traveled with him to VA. We'll have an adjustment period to deal with. Sugarwings will too, her Pop Pop is a big factor in her life. Last time he was away, she called him and said "I want Pop Pop at the DOOR not at the PHONE."

I will miss him as much as Sugarwings does.

But I have my blog friends, and all these projects (Miss Frenchie's, a new web site, an Etsy shop to fill).

Some of the tags I make to cover the books will be copies of my originals, but knowing me, I'll make quite a few originals. Each book will be tied up with vintage ribbons, like this one is, and will have the tiny, heart shaped, "Puppy Love" tag attached, as well as maybe some charm or other goodies. I ordered lots of vintage gum ball dog charms in pretty colors of plastic and have lots of little brass charms, as well as other tidbits to dangle here or there.

So, remember to not add anything to the TOP of your tag. You can add what ever you want to to the bottom, and have it dangle there, if you want. Ruffles, ribbons, charms, etc. That will make the book more interesting.

Here is a photo of true Puppy Love to inspire you. Teddy and Twinkle all cuddled up together, back in their free spirited days before they became parents.

There is still room in the swap, I might be crazy to commit myself to so many covers, but hey, that I just how I roll.

More Puppy Love, a list of LOOT, and a Valentine’s Swap

celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), give away, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 8, 2009

You didn't' think I could go more than one post without showing puppies did you? You guys are going to be so sick of my puppy photos by the time they go to their new homes. I'll have a reputation of being "that boring dog blog".

But I know that there are some of you who are feeling the Puppy Love too, so here's an idea……

How about a Puppy Love swap for Valentine's Day??

Of course, "puppy love" also means young love, so your contributions don't have to be dog related at all.

Lets make a tag book. You send me 6 tags and I will make a cover, then assemble the book. Everyone will receive a 7 tag book back.

Valentine's Day is my two year blog anniversary, the puppies will be about old enough to go to their new homes then, too. It seems fitting to have this theme for my swap. What do you think?

Oh geez, this means I need to make a button, doesn't it? I'm so inept at that. Lately, tech stuff has been getting the better of me. My buddy, Beth, has bailed me out and is helping me with getting my website going, thank goodness.

And maybe some of you wonder why I am making dozens of tags for book covers instead of making things to fill my new website or list on Etsy or sell at Miss Frenchie's in April? Beats me, it isn't a smart business choice, that is for sure. But doesn't the swap sound fun?

Here is a recap of Karla's Cottage goings ons and LOOT:

Yes, there is a giveaway for January, that I keep forgetting to announce. Lets solve that and just call it a SURPRISE GIVEAWAY! Just always count on me giving at least one present each month, all comments are entered into the monthly drawing.
Swap sign ups are first come first serve. I'll start making some tag covers for the book and see how many I can handle before I put a limit on the entries. The last couple of swaps I did filled fast, so enter soon!
There will be a name a puppy contest. With a PRIZE (to be named later, or shall we just call that one a SURPRISE PRIZE too?) We'll need to get to know these guys a little better before we can name them.
There will be a, you guessed it, a SURPRISE PRIZE for my two year blog anniversary on Valentine's Day too. (I need to make some stuff for these prizes, huh?)

And while we are on the subject of pups and love, here is Teddy meeting his babies for the first time. Twinkle is not as fond of him as she was a couple months ago.

Are you wanting swap details? Here they are. And email me if you are interested in joining. I hope you'll want to play, it will be a fun one, and a pretty simple one to make. The turn around time is about a month, but 6 little tags are quick to do.

Puppy Love

For this swap, you will make 6 tags, with the theme of “puppy love”. Dogs, sweethearts, young love, however you wish to interpret it is fine.

Decorate the tags in any way you wish, but please do not add ribbons to the hole, that is where I will connect 6 random tags to make a book for you, using my own ribbons and baubles.

You can add embellishments or ties or ribbons to the bottom of the tag, foof it up as much as you’d like!

Please use tags approximately 4 ½” by 2 ½”. You don’t have to be exact with this, but do try to be in that ballpark, so that your tag will fit well into the books. You can be an inch or so bigger or smaller, but not much more than that. Variety is quite nice, but if your tag is too far off, it won’t work with the books.

You are welcome to cut your tag out of any material you want to use. You DO NOT have to use a pre-made tag, you can fabricate your own. Fabric, metal, chipboard, etc, feel free to experiment!

You are welcome to finish both sides of the tags as elaborate as you’d like to, but only have to do one side, if that is all time allows you.

Please sign your tag, so the recipient will know whose work they are enjoying!

Once tags arrive at my cottage, I will sort them into piles that look cute together and assemble books from 6 different tags, plus a cover by myself. Some covers will be hand made, some will be copies, it will be a random mix, depending upon how many I need to make! And you might receive your own tag back in the book that I make for you, you might not. I’m sure you’ll be proud of it and how it looks with the other pretty tags so will be happy to get it as part of a book, if that happens.

Please have your 6 tags to my studio by February 5^th to be included in the books for Valentine’s Day.

Along with your tags, please send $6 for postage and supplies plus your return address.

A winner for December, 10 resolutions and a good start on #9

collections, fairies, give away, how to's, how-to projects, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 1, 2009

Happy New Year! We had a quiet evening, reading princess stories to our little fairy princess. I cooked up a pot of Cajun styled shrimp and veggies with tomatoes I froze from our garden and we stayed in for the evening. Yes, very tame, but very pleasant. I had time to think about the past year and the new one that starts today, and come up with a few resolutions.

1- just like last year, I want to USE the good stuff in my artwork, not hoarde it! This is a hard thing to make myself do, and even though I kept the resolution last year, I think I need to make it again this year so I don't backslide.

2- paint more, and incorporate hand painting into my collage work. I made this one last year too, and kept it on a so-so basis. I could do better on it this year.

3- complain less, act more. I guess I mean, that instead of complaining, I should DO something about what bothers me.

4- say NO sometimes. Ooooh, that is a really tough one for me.

5- expect more from my sons and not treat them like kids. I find myself irritated and picking up after my grown sons and nagging at them like a mom, instead of talking to them like a fellow adult who shares the same home.

6- draw more. Kind of like the Paint More resolution, but not really. I love to paint, drawing can be hard work.

7- don't watch as much junk on TV. I should rent DVDs of full seasons of good TV shows, not just watch whatever crap happens to be on. (You did notice that I didn't say I was going to watch any less TV, that would be impossible for me!)

8- shall I be a bit cliche and say I'll lose that 10 lbs that I found this year? I'm not much of a dieter, so I guess not. Maybe I should say I will go for walks with Sugarwings and Twinkle more, take the baby to the indoor pool, and plan to add another section of garden to my yard? That should be good for getting rid of a few pounds over the year.

9- more how- tos on my blog. I like doing them and I think people enjoy reading them.

10- spend less time browsing blogs and keep up my paperwork better. (like that one has a snowball's chance in hell)

Did you make any resolutions for the year? Good luck with them if so.

Now, onto the Surprise Giveaway for December- ta da! It is a photo album, or scrap book, or art journal, or whatever you want it to be, Kathryn,because you are the winner for December.

Today starts a new giveaway for January. I'm not sure yet what it will be, but all comments still count for the drawing.

Remember the project I mentioned yesterday, that I wasn't sure I had time to do? Well, between the couple hours I had while waiting for Sugarwings to come over to play and her afternoon nap time later, I ended up with plenty of time to get it done!

All year long, I have been saying I want to do something special with my best wallpapers so I can always have them out to see and enjoy. So, I decided that I could not let the year end without finally accomplishing the task. Here is a how-to, if you want to do something similar.

1- I cut (not measured to fit, I just cut off a large bit of each) and ironed a few pieces of the prettiest papers I had on hand, then laid them out on the floor in a pleasing pattern. Trying to balance the colors, and not have all the blue ones together or the rose patterned ones next to each other.

2- My technique was far from perfect. I measured the soffit length (17 1/2") then cut each paper to that, with scalloped edge scissors. I didn't want to have to act like a professional wallpaper-er, and cut exactly with exacto knives and match patterns. I wanted it free and easy and quick, (remember, I was very short on time, with that baby coming over to play and 2008 coming to an end!).

I figured that if the edges were scalloped, and not perfect, it would be charming (and easy to do!). And I discovered that my measuring was a bit off here and there, but that didn't bother me at all. I liked it that some were a little longer, some shorter.

3- Wallpaper paste was applied to the back of each square with a wide paint brush, then the square was slapped up on the wall and smoothed down with a wet wash rag. Now, sometimes old papers are hand painted, so you have to be careful not to wash off or smear the paint.

4- The first square was lined up in the corner, the second overlapped it and was pasted up next to it. Now, I am sure that the proper way to do this is to use a plum bob and straight edge, but I was eye balling the patterns of the paper to make sure they all seemed straight. If one was looking a little crooked, I just slid it over a bit while the glue was still wet.

My plan was to use the bigger patterned pieces (in the width they came in, I didn't cut them all the same) on the wall. Then, with the little vintage frames that Beth gave me, I hung the smaller patterned pieces over it.

My all time favorite wallpaper went in the center of the wall in a large frame.

Of course, I didn't measure the wall to find the center, once again I eyeballed it. But I wanted the small frames to be even, so instead of doing complicated math, I hung the first small frame to the side of the large, center one, and then marked the spot where the nail went on a piece of paper.

After that, all I had to do was hang a picture, then hold up the piece of paper to mark the distance to the next nail. I nailed right through the paper to save time, no pencils or measuring, just a piece of paper, a hammer and nail.

At this point, Sugarwings was up from her nap, so it was her job to hand me the hammer and the next frame.

My studio is pretty, uhm, busy, but I like it this way! And I know that 2009 is starting off right, with a beautiful view of my favorite papers to keep me inspired while I create.

OK little girl, let’s give someone else a turn!

celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, holiday decor, paintings, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / December 23, 2008

We took Sugarwings to see Santa today and she wouldn't leave him alone. She sat there on his lap and waited for the Mermaid doll she asked for. Finally, she got down for the bribe of a candy cane, but then went back and got another candy cane to give to Santa. Then went back for another sit on his lap. Then for another hug. It looked like St. Nick was enjoying her visit, I think it might be nice for him to have someone with no fear come to hang out a while.

I think this little one loves Christmas as much as her Grammy does.

She stopped to speak to every single Santa she saw at the mall.

And she didn't think it would hurt to put in a word with the giant cow for that doll she wanted.

When I got back from my trip, there was a stack of packages waiting for me! One was from a sweet reader pal, Jean, who lives in Virginia.

Not only were there surprises for Sugarwings, she sent me some treats too, including a box of these white doves.

I've added the glass doves to the dining room chandelier along with other birdies and some snowflakes I have received this year. They might just all stay there a while after the holidays as more "winter decor" than Christmas decorations.

One of the snowflakes was from Tiffany, a Silver Bella pal. I'd ordered this cute little bottle of Christmas wishes from her shop, and she sent along lots of pretties, including this card. It brings back memories of a class we took together in Omaha, where she was helping me with using hot wax over parts of my project. I really like the way she has applied wax over the scene in the center of the card.

Previously, I had shown you some of my little paintings that I was making into cards. Here are a few (of the dozens) that I made while in the hotel room.

And in case you were feeling sorry for the poor dorkies, at home alone while I was out on a fabulous vacation, they had some fun while I was gone. Twinks was invited over to stay at the farm where her true love, Teddy lives. And the other two dogs were so happy to have Twinkle away and not bothering them, they felt like a queen and king with the whole house to themselves. (Twinks can be a little bossy)

I'm off to go work on my Christmas shopping. Typically, I am not a last minute shopper. When my kids were little, we used to love to go to the mall on Christmas Eve and eat lunch at the food court while we watched all the crazed last minute buying, and I'd bask in a warm glow from the knoweldge that my packages were wrapped and under the tree. Not this year!

I hope all of you are having a lovely holiday week. Merry Christmas to all of you from Sugarwings and I.

Itsy Bitsty Christmas Card paintings and a giveaway reminder

give away, holiday decor, Moving to DC, paintings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / December 18, 2008

This may be a vacation, but it doesn't mean I can't get some work done!

My husband and I are in Virginia at our cozy little apartment, and while he is at work today, I've been doing some tiny paintings to make Christmas cards from. I guess our vacation hasn't officially started yet, it just kind of feels like it to me, since I am away from home and have been able to sit around in my jammies all day and do what ever I wanted to.

And what is it that I always want to do, when I have my choice of doing any thing at all? Create things, of course!

So, I have been painting away. I packed up enough supplies to make up holiday cards, as well as envelopes and even remembered the printed labels, to get them all into the mail. Today was spent making a couple dozen itsy bitsy pictures (the largest is about 4" tall), and tomorrow, from our hotel room in Richmond, I will make the cards. Hopefully, I will get them all finished by Saturday morning. That is when we leave for our romantic getaway.

And I have a feeling my husband wouldn't appreciate me ruining his surprise get away by cutting and gluing and glittering all weekend. (well, it sounds like fun to me, but I know it wouldn't to him!)

Don't forget that I have a surprise for you guys too. The December Giveaway Secret Gift!! I will be out of town for a few days,and maybe not near a computer after this- but you can still leave a comment to enter the drawing and have a chance to win.

Here is a hint of what the surprise is. Surprises are such a fun part of the season,aren't they?

If I don't "see" you again while I am out of town, I hope that you are all having a good time with your holiday preparations and are getting all glittery too!

Recycled photos

holiday decor, magazine pictures or articles, Moving to DC, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / December 16, 2008

Wasn't Heather's party a fun one? I am looking forward to having time to go through all the links and visit the holiday homes. I've only had a chance to look at a few, and was blown away by the ones I saw! Bloggers know how to do a holiday, that is for sure. There are some beautiful decorations out there and luckily we get to take a peek at them!

Thanks to everyone who came by my shop for my Blog Readers Appreciation Sale. I enjoyed wrapping up packages and getting them out to you all, I hope you enjoy your treats.

Have I ever mentioned Ashwell? My shabby chic colored cat? Actually, he lives in Ryan's apartment,and Ry thinks his name is Ash, from the hero of the Evil Dead trilogy. You might have noticed a few pictures of Dorkies and fairy grand babies around the cottage, but we have a whole menagerie here, lots of people, lots of pets. That makes the home even more special for the holidays.

My husband and I will be out of town for a few days, so I won't be mailing any purchases from my Etsy shop after Tuesday afternoon. Thanks so much for your support of my shop! I do appreciate you coming by to browse. I'll restock after the holidays and will also be opening a new on line store. (Details to come)

Since I have been packing up oodles of items to ship out today, and running last minute errands all over town to get ready for Christmas and my trip, I have NOTHING new to show you.

So here is some stuff from a few years ago. These photos are by the talented Bill Mathews and styled by the skilled Gloria Gale. (who have both given me permission to show photos we worked on together, don't ever show magainze photos on your blog, it is not legal without permission!!!) We did the shoot for Victorian Decorating magazine and they were done in the most elaborate and gorgeous Victorian house. We were lucky to have access to it for the day.

My job was to come up with easy decorating tips and ideas and then display them in the home and write how to's for the magazine.

This photo is of something I didn't do this year, but I really like it and might use it for my table scape during Christmas Eve dinner. I've taken the metal cap off the top of ornaments, filled them with water and used them as vases. To keep the balls from rolling around and the water spilling out, I used a bit of that clay like stuff that you can hold things together with. And of course, I forget what that is called.

The tip for these two pictures, is to use stickers on bottles or ornaments and add glitter over them. The previous pictures showed a garden planter as a buffet server, with glittered and painted terra cotta pots to hold silverware and napkins. I used this idea at a friend's's wedding reception and it was a nice touch.

Lets see, the other one is making place card holders from pictures of Victorian ladies and more stickers. I was on quite the sticker kick that year.

Here is a variation of an idea I also had published in Somerset Life, making a magnetic message board from an old ceiling tin.

This one is about as easy as it can get, punch holes in the top of old Christmas postcards and add a hanger made out of tinsel, and hang the cards on your mantel or tree.

Beth loaned me the birdcage full of ornaments, and that was going to be the picture, but we decided that we needed more, so asked the homeowners if we could borrow some mail, and tucked it in the cage to show it used as a display for Christmas cards. Sometimes, you aren't quite sure what the shots will be till you get into it and see what develops.

This is another quickie, last minute idea. Gloria turned over some stemware and made them into mini cloches.

Well, I am off to pack for my trip to who knows where. It is just killing my husband to keep this secret! He is bursting with wanting to spill the beans. I won't let him, though! I want to be surprised when we get there, wherever it is. Although, not knowing does make packing complicated.

Hopefully, I will get to post from our apartment in Virginia, but I might not. So if I don't talk to you until Christmas, I wish you all the very, very best of holidays!

A second sneak peek at the December Giveaway and some tussie mussies to unload. (I mean offer to you at a special price.)

Books, Etsy Goodies, Food and Drink, holiday decor, I do tend to run on, don't I?, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / December 13, 2008

This is sneak peek number 2 of the December Giveaway– it will stay a surprise until it is sent off in the mail to it's new home on Jan. 1. If you want to enter the drawing, every comment counts, all month long.

Louisa is hosting a Home Sweet Home blog party today, please go to her site and see some of the linked blogs and thier holiday decor!

I've been extremely good about returning comments this month (I hope Santa is watching!) but they are not all going through!! I get about 20% of them bounced back to me as non-deliverable. ( I just made up that percentage, I don't really do math much, this is a guess).

Sugarwings got the sweetest gift in the mail from our pal, Robin in VA. If you'd like to see a couple second video of her hanging it on the tree, click HERE.

The present itself was the cutest Glinda the Good Witch ornament, she is inside the clear ball like it is the bubble she rides down into Munchkindland. And of course, since Sugarwings loves to make things, we saved the box and cut out Glinda's picture to make another ornament from that.

I did the cutting, she did the glue and glitter, then we tied a ribbon and bell to the piece so that the fairy grand baby could hang it on her little pink tree.

You know how kids always loved playing with the box a gift comes in? We have discovered that the boxes always make good project materials. If I cut out the logos, or characters, Sugarwings is happy to get out the glue stick and glitter to turn the packaging into one of her smeary, yet sparkly creations. We even cut the pictures out of cute paper plates we use to eat snacks off of in the studio. Nothing goes to waste around here. (and peanut butter does hold glitter) And as prolific as she is, creating one thing after another and flinging the finished pieces over her head, then calling out "more", we need all the supplies we can get!

Her Grammy tends to be prolific too. Of course, getting the items I make photographed and listed on Etsy, I am maybe NOT so good at. I can crank out the goods, but I can't seem to get them uploaded to sell. You should see the backlog in my studio.

Yesterday, when maybe I should have been trying to clear out some of the junk, I mean trying to sell some things, I took a day off for a fun crafting afternoon with some blog friends. We all worked on books like the project Teresa McFayden had in one of her classes at Silver Bella.

For this, we decorated the covers of old books in pretty papers, then hollowed out the book with an exacto knife, clamped and glued the pages together and filled the scooped out portion with a pretty scene.

I tinted this old sepia toned photo with some pink to go along with my vintage pink wallpaper and this perfectly aged, old Christmas sheet music that is printed with BROWN ink! how pretty is that? I had been using some of this paper as the packaging for the mini dyed trees I was selling on Etsy, then realized it was way too cool to not keep and use a couple pages for myself. I'm glad I did, I think that it was just what I needed for this book.

If you are interested in purchasing this book it is $35 includes shipping (in the US). sold, thanks!

The guests brought goodies and we ate fresh baked Christmas treats all afternoon.(Sugarwing's Daddy was a bit irritated at me for letting her have a chocolate and candy cane free for all in the treat cabinet)

By the way, my treat cabinet is featured in the latest edition of Romantic Country magazine, I'll let you know when I see some copies on the stands. A friend told me she has received hers in the mail already.

Of course, here is just one more thing I didn't get listed on Etsy for this season. Tussie Mussies are so pretty on the tree, or can be filled with treats or small presents and given as gifts.

They are made with vintage materials and decked out with loads of pretties. Maybe I should sell them from the blog instead, because who knows if I will get them onto Etsy?? So, here they are, if you'd like one, I can send you a pay pal invoice for $8 each (half price from what I usually sell Tussie Mussies for) plus postage. They aren't heavy, but require a box. I will ship them Priority Mail for $4.80, as many as you'd like to fit into one box.

Also, thanks so much to those of you who asked about the bird ornament from yesterday, it has been sold and was one of a kind, I can't make another. I appreciate your inquiries, though.