vintage paper/collage art – Page 39

Greetings! A mini tutorial on making some greeting cards with vintage papers

family, how-to projects, paintings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 18, 2008

My baby brother-in-law, Randy, has started making cards and has been asking for a bit of advice.

I offered to send him a box of goodies to use, and he said he didn’t know what to do with pages from an old book or vintage wallpaper.

So, I am making these cards with some how to’s for him to follow along with when he gets his package of vintage delights in the mail from me.

(All of these cards have been created with pre-made linen cards from Michaels.)

The first one is on a white card. I started by laying the card onto the wallpaper and cutting out a piece to fit with an exacto knife.

The piece of wallpaper was then attached to the card with a glue stick.

After the glue dried, I sanded the edges with the sponge sanding block, for a smooth finish.

As if vintage wallpaper isn’t old enough… I ‘aged’ the sanded edges with the side of my ink pad. This color is distressed walnut.

After the base of the card is ready, then the fun part happens! Time to embellish-

I cut an oval from a page torn out of a 1917 book with French text, and inked the edges with the walnut ink, then added a smaller oval of a coordinating wallpaper to the center and to that added a gold foil butterfly.

Some old brown ribbon and a single bloom of an old millinery flower are arranged across the bottom. I glued a crystal rhinestone (I only use glass ones, never plastic) to the center.

Right now these stones are on clearance at Hancock Fabrics for 75% off.

For a touch more sparkle, I’ve used a Martha Stewart glue pen to draw dots around the small oval of wallpaper.

I then dusted my favorite glitter over the glue.

As much as I hate to make Martha even more wealthy than she already is, I just HAVE to buy her glitter. It really is so good to work with! I use the fine ones, for a sheer look.

This card starts with a reddish-pink, kind of an azalea color, paper as its base.

Decorative scissors were used to cut out the French book page and the vintage wallpaper.

After gluing down the papers, I once again inked the edges. This time, I blended the ink a bit with a cosmetic sponge.

These old papers can be very fragile, so do this gently.

To finish, I added a snip of embroidered old ribbon, a mother of pearl button, and a teeny butterfly shaped button.

(Randy grows a butterfly garden, so the flowers and butterflies are some of his favorite things)

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, old red flocked wallpaper that I got from Allissa is glued on to a warm pink card for this one, traced with an exacto knife and inked on the edges the same way the first card was done.

After, I used 2 different decorative scissors to cut out the French book page, and a color copy of one of my own paintings.

At the bottom is a brass charm accented with 3 pink crystals.

One last how-to for Randy, this card has a pretty cornflower blue base.

To it, I added a strip of wallpaper cut with decorative scissors, and a piece of anaglypta wallpaper that I have aged with an umber glaze.

After the wallpaper was glued into place, I inked the edges with the side of the walnut ink pad.

In the center is an oval of the French book pages, and a German die cut.

To finish it off and add some glitz, three little crystals in the same blue are glued to the border of the anaglypta paper.

While I was making these examples for Randy, I thought he’d appreciate a kit for each one. While I was at it, I made a little extra.

I had enough bits to make two kits of three cards each.

Everything I used to make my own is in the kit and ready to be glued and mailed out to someone special (Mother’s Day is coming up, before you know it)

The pieces are already cut with decorative scissors, all you will need to complete the cards is:

glue

ink

glitter

glue pen

exacto knife

If you are interested, email or leave a comment. Each 3 card kit is $12, including postage. (unless overseas)

The last time I went to visit Randy, he and I painted the floor of his craft room to look like a pond.

I wish I could be back there in his colorful room and make cards with him, but isn’t the Internet great? I hope he reads this and feels like I am there with him.

I love you baby brother!!

St. Patty’s Day Two Tag Swap and a BIG, Ole, THANK YOU

fairies, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 16, 2008

Thanks!!

To all the people who wished Ryan and Sugarwing’s mom quick recoveries on their gallbladder dilemmas. (both are doing well, and Ry is home from the hospital now)

And thanks to all the people who joined in on my St. Pats Two Tag Swap, late as it is going out.

There were so many pretty little extras tucked into the envelopes people sent to me.

I shared as much as I could and sent divided up a lot of the extras to include in the envelopes that I sent out.

I also included some vintage wallpaper scraps with plenty of greens from my insane, over stocked, stockpile of crazily hoarded old beautiful papers.

I feel AWFUL that I mixed up the boxes and don’t know who this is from!!! Whoever you are, thanks, I will be wearing these tomorrow! I can use some good Irish luck, after the hospital stays we went through this week in Nathanville. EDIT- the socks I’ll be dancing a jig in on St Pattys are from Jeanie-Thanks!!

And look at how darling this is, a rose patterned cosmetic bag, that I will make lots of use of on my trips to DC.

It was made by Lisa, and is such a pretty thing. Thanks, Lisa!

This PERFECT for me brooch was sent by Wanda (among a huge box full of treats, equally wonderful)

Look- is symbolizes my heart in DC, for when my husband is staying there!!!

It came in the cutest little birdhouse jewel box, that I will show photos of on our "What do you LOVE about your Birdie’s Home?" Day (otherwise known as Bling your Birdhouse Day) that I am hosting with Beth on March 27th.

To be a part of it, all you have to do, is leave a comment with your link to your blog. Details can be read by clicking on the button at the top left of my blog. We also have a Flickr site, if you don’t have a blog and wish to participate, show your photos HERE. A flickr account is free and easy to set up if you don’t already have one.

But back to the St. Pats Two Tag Swap- look at the cuteness!

I tried to get some photos of all the tags, but some pictures were blurry, and by then, all the tags had been wrapped up and tucked away into the packages going to their new homes.

Twenty swappers participated and each and every envelope was a pleasure to open.

I was so pleased with the quality of the tags that everyone made, it was hard to give any of them up!

It was such fun for me to do a swap this way, so that I got to look at and play with all the tags!

I just hope I didn’t screw anything up, and everyone gets the proper goods in the mail! I am an artist, not a secretary and I am not known for good organizational skills. (I already mentioned shamefully losing the name of the sweet person who sent the cheerful socks)

I worked with 3 different checklists to make sure everyone got:

1- a package (sounds simple, and elementary, but really, I had to double check twice)

2- two tags from two different people

3- a little surprise from the goodies that were sent

4- some vintage wallpaper from me

Please, please, please— let me know if you didn’t get what you were supposed to! If you didn’t, it was due entirely to my inability to be organized.

Well, after telling you how bad I am at being organized and making sure all the swaps go out correctly, you probably don’t want to hear this, but- Beth and I are planning another swap!

(by the way, she is EXTREMELY organized)

Details to come, we’re making plans this week, hopefully we will announce it during our Bling your Birdhouse Day party.

And lucky little Miss Sugarwings was given a box full of fun things by the kind hearted Wanda,

And this sleeping fairy baby is for her too, from my pal, Pam along with a blooming rose pin for me.

I feel every bit as spoiled as that rotten little Sugarwings

Thanks everyone for being so nice.

And good luck chasing the end of the rainbow, I wish you all the Luck of the Irish on St Patty’s Day!

A Tale of Two Gallbladders

Etsy Goodies, family, Sugarwings, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 14, 2008

Well, this week started out nice. I was able to make some things, then had lots of Sugarwings time.

This picture is a copy of an old postcard that I crackled and aged, and popped into a frame.

And my book club meeting on Wednesday night was fun, with an interesting discussion. (the book was Housekeeping by Marylin Robinson)

Of course, I am always thrilled with an excuse to entertain and make trays of goodies.

But about midnight, I started to feel pretty awful, and was up all night, ill as could be. There has been a nasty bug going around and I am afraid it bit me too.

So, when Ryan called at 6am to tell me he was having stomach pain, I told him to take some Pepto Bismal and try to rest, I couldn’t have much sympathy for him, when I had spent the last few hours wondering when the room would stop spinning,( and if I had passed the bug along to all the guests who had been to my house that night).I figured he had the same thing.

But finally, hours later, when I took a look at him, writhing in pain and turning funny shades of green, I realized he had more than a virus.

I chugged some more Pepto Bismal myself, and helped him dress and got him into the car and to the hospital.

The ER found a gigantic gallstone and an infection. They kept him over night and scheduled surgery the next day, after a round of IV antibiotics.

While Ryan was in surgery, Sugarwing’s hippy chick mom made a trip into the ER with pain also, to find out that she had an inflamed gallbladder.

Ry’s surgery was not as easy as expected, his infection was pretty serious, and the gallbladder was gangrene, no wonder he was writhing in pain (as I ignored him). Tonight, his fever is down, and he is finally resting comfortably in the hospital and will be there a couple more days.

Of course, surgeries and ER tests don’t go quickly and there is only so much you can do to entertain an energetic little girl while the whole family is going back and forth from the waiting room on the surgery floor to the ER waiting room.

She got lots of shoulder rides from her Pop Pop, up and down the halls.

She made wishes and threw coins in the lobby fountain until we had no more coins to pass out, no matter how pretty she begged.

She found some wheelchairs to be pushed in while she yelled "Go! Go! Go!"

She thought that the glass elevator was not bad entertainment for a few rides too. And she found the buttons inside very compelling.

Luckily, my bug was a 24 hour thing and I was up to the task of turning a hospital into a playhouse for 8 hours. But it feels even better to have Sugarwing’s mom out of the ER, back home, and not requiring surgery, and to have Ryan losing that funny shade of green and to ask for a cup of broth for supper.

I’m afraid that THIS does not make me feel so good. Oops, I haven’t had a chance to mail out my St Pats Two Tag Swaps. I am so so sorry. But at least my excuse is valid and not some lame, my dog ate my homework excuse. Although, Twinkle would be thrilled at a chance to chew these up!

I am exhausted and way behind on getting stuff out in the mail. My Etsy customers have been left in the lurch too, I’m afraid.

I promised to have them sent out in time for the swappers to receiveby St Pats, but now I hope to just get them in the mail by St Pats instead. Please forgive me, and I will send all 20 of my swappers some extra swatches of pretty vintage wallpaper as an apology.

Tonight, my husband is sitting up with Ryan and I am getting some sleep so I can go up to the hospital in the morning. Thank goodness Ryan is better, that fever had me worried, and it was so awful to seem him in such pain. I will spare you and not show the photo of the nasty, green gallbladder that the Dr gave to us as a memento. Even though the color would go nicely with the St. Pats theme….

I usually am really good about mailing things and also at answering Emails and comments. Please understand if I don’t respond to comments this week.

I really didn’t need to go shopping today, but wow!!

antiques/junking, collections, family, holiday decor, Sugarwings, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 9, 2008

Don’t I have enough hats yet? What is wrong with me??? I can’t resist.

Truth is, I do use the flowers in my projects a lot. But even if I used them daily, I probably have enough millinery flowers to get me through the next decade or so.

Yet, today I buy 4 more hats. One has a large, single velvet rose, nicely smashed with age (for $2- how could I leave it behind??). The others are LOADED with flowers and were $4 each.

I might have bought a few buttons too…… There are some not pictured also. Lots of cute shapes and rhinestoney ones in the jars, so I just had to get them at about $5 a jar.

Scranton and 4-Corners, Kansas are small towns in the middle of nowhere, but they have some great antiquing bargains!

Most things were cheap to start with, but there were also sales, of 25-50% off a lot of booths. Except for the hats and buttons, everything in the picture here was $2 or under, including the glass jar. I think I’ll use it for my paint brushes. But on the other hand, I do have plenty of buttons to fill it with!

And how many vintage photos can you get in 4-Corners, Kansas in a bag for $5? I stopped counting at 50.

Of all the things I got today, these are my favorites. Oh, I can’t wait to get started on these projects!! Don’t they look like Marie Antionette?

One project will involve these figures, some small round boxes, vintage wallpaper in soft pastel colors, lots of millinery flowers and more than a few rhinestone buttons.

The frame, I will paint white and put a different picture in. I will be needing this print for the lining of one of these boxes that these mini Maries will be perched upon.

What a sweet baby photo this is. It was in the bag of old pictures that I got today and I think it might be my favorite of the bunch. Feel free to copy and use it in your own projects. This baby needs a loving home! How sad when family photos are lost to the family and for sale in antique stores. I always feel like saving them.

There certainly is no worries that my little fairy grand baby’s pictures will go neglected!

I had a little scrapbook party on Saturday and between fixing a big dinner, playing with babies and just plain old hanging out, we managed to get a few pages done.

Sugarwing’s cousin out grew this dress and it was torn. Her mom had the idea to use it for our pages of the little girls.

I cut out a square to make a pocket out of it, with the dress ruffle at the bottom. Then glued the buttons down the side and added sparkly flowers to their centers. The velvet bow was part of the dress already.

When I put photos in pockets, I always glue two back to back, or glue scrapbook paper to the back of one, to make them sturdier. I also punch a hole in the corner and add a ribbon to use as a pull to take the photo out of the pocket.

This page of a summer day on the lake with the family is laid out on a piece of paper that I did a water color wash onto.

I added a frog cut from a copy of one of my paintings. Its only in black and white, maybe someday I’ll tint it, but I doubt it. Once I move on from a project I rarely go back, no matter how good my intentions are.

I accented this picture of a couple of my friends and I with a paper doll dress that Beth gave to me.

I like to use tags, ATCs and other art that I have been given in my scrapbooks.

Not only are they usually well done and attractive, but they are sentimental to me too and I love to keep them somewhere that I can enjoy them.

Speaking of friends, my pal, Carol, and I are collaborating with the Fabulous Fifi on an upcoming project! Fifi called last week, and she is every bit as wonderful to talk to as her blog is to read. No details yet, but here is a teeny sneak peek of something Carol is whipping up for our prospective article.

Another pal, Heather featured in an article in Romantic Homes. How cool. I can’t wait to pick up a copy. Heather and Carol are both buddies that I met through Silver Bella, and blogging.

And my poor pal, Beth, is under the weather. The pitiful thing is suffering from a horrific knitting injury. Actually, I think it is just tendinitis, but she was achey enough to miss Scranton and 4-Corners today. If you get a chance, wish her a get well soon.

My Sissy sent these St Pats tags in for the Two Tag Swap I am hosting. You wouldn’t believe the pile of pretties I get to go through and send out to people! Such great tags came in the mail this week, I can’t wait to play with them all.

Oh- I have been tagged by Connie to list seven things about myself. I know I’ve done the 7 weird things many times, but don’t seem to run out of weirdness to write about.

This time, I’ll keep it simple:

1- I am a serial painter. It is a serious mental problem, I am sure. I really can’t control it, I paint, and repaint rooms all the time. Right now I am considering blues for my bedroom.

2- I work really fast, and can get quite a bit done in a short amount of time. My studio is drowning in finished projects. I think it takes longer to try to sell them than it does to make them.

3- When we have a litter of kittens or puppies at our cottage, I pick a theme and name them all to match. My favorite Dorky puppy names were herbs, I had Rosemary and Dilly in that batch of pups.

4- My Great Aunt Caroline is about to turn 100 and I plan on taking after her and living at least that long. I have a lot I want to make or paint and it will take me till then to do it all.

5- I fell off a horse and broke my back 15 years ago this summer, and never thought I’d be without pain, but really am doing very well now.

6- I no longer own horses!

7- I never get tired of these 7 things lists, but I am bad about those award things. Louisa gave me a couple and I want to thank her for them. And instead of passing them on to another blogger, I’d like all you readers out there to be winners. Thanks for coming by and listening to my rambles and obsessions, and for keeping me company.

Oh, before I forget, I wanted to remind everyone about the Birdhouse Blinging we have going on March 27th. Join us here and at Beth’s, please!

And everyone, blogger or not, is invited to show birdhouse pictures on our Flickr group:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/692795@N22/

The Snow Ball Effect- Avalanche Style

antiques/junking, Etsy Goodies, fairies, holiday decor, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / March 2, 2008

After seeing that gorgeous stairway while shopping in Virgina, I have been on a redo roll. Avalanche style, right down the mountain, gathering momentum and growing and growing.

I call it the snowball effect for two reasons. One- we’ve had the worst winter I can remember in years and I have been snowed in staring at my house way too much. Staring and finding fault.

Two, because as the project rolls along, it grows and grows.

Redoing the stairs meant that the walls should be repainted while I had the carpet up. I am entranced by Strawberry Whoppers right now and love the color as much as the taste. So, I mixed up a gallon of paint just slightly muted in that shade. (I used some leftovers in the garage, mixed and matched and added some tints till I got just the right pale, malty pink)

Under the rug, I knew the wood was going to be construction grade and meant to be covered with carpet, and that there would be some gaps here and there. But man… it was bad.

We ended up buying new pine steps for $7 each at Home Depot.

And to cover the gaps along the risers and the wall, I found these little corner pieces ($2 each) that just fit.

The steps are replaced, the paint is on, the walls are painted. Now I need to wallpaper them all.

When I cut out and held up slice of vintage rose patterned wallpaper, I loved it so much, I started to hate the rest of the room. The stair way is open to the dining room and all of a sudden it just wasn’t measuring up.

I bought a new (antique) dining set on sale at my friend’s store ($600). Then, of course, the curtains won’t match the new chairs. I picked up lace panels at Target ($60) Doesn’t Target have the best curtains???

And now, standing back from the baby’s room and looking down the stairs, I am thinking that carpet in there could use replacing…. And I saved so much by making my own paint and using vintage wallpaper that I already had and finding bargains for the dining room. And by doing the work myself with my son instead of hiring someone, that labor savings was huge! Heck I am redoing TWO rooms for way under $1000, on Trading Spaces they can barely do one. (well does a stairway count as a room??)

Aren’t I good at rationalizing?

I am feeling very spoiled by getting these re-dos done, but I am not nearly as spoiled as this little one. Sugarwings got some gifts in the mail from blogging friends.

How cute are these?? The little purse is from my pal, Phyllis and the cute collage with the baby’s photo on it is from Mahala. I think I will fill the little bag with Easter grass and toys, and tie the tag to it to give to her at Easter. Won’t they be cute together?

Of course, this little girl is just as happy to eat mud as she is to eat candy. I babysat her all day yesterday and she did quite a bit of mud snacking. (notice her lips)

So Grandmama taught her how to spit. That is a trick I am sure her parents will appreciate. We also went down to the creek to sit on the bank and throw rocks. Spitting and throwing rocks, yep, her parents will be thrilled with me.

Between working on the stairway and babysitting, I found some time to make pretties too. I bought these child’s tea cups from Shabby in the City with plans to give them to the baby, but she is too young yet for china cups.

So, they became nests for a fairy and a couple of sugared birds with vintage millinery flowers. I hope to get them all listed on etsy but time seems to be getting away from me.

Time has not been on my side lately. Listing seems to eat up a lot more time than actually crafting!

I managed to list these two little Easter peat pots that I made, the pair for $10. I made a TON of these last night, because I just can’t seem to make one of anything. For me, creating things is like a bag of Lays potato chips. (remember those commercials?) One is never enough.

If you would like one of these I will sell them to my blog readers for $4 each, plus postage instead of the Etsy cost of $10 a pair, for the saving me the time of listing them!

Same with the child’s tea cup nests- if you’d like one with birds now, it is only $10. $12 for the fairy.

While my house is torn up with remodeling and changing out furniture, I am extremely behind and am happy to give you a discount if it means I don’t have to edit pictures for Etsy right now!

These aren’t the best photos are they? Come to think of it, this isn’t a real pretty posting, with the murky photos and the ripped up stairs. Oh well, there is a Sugarwings picture, that makes the post beautiful to me!

In case you can’t tell, the peat pots are glittery and sweet, I used lots of vintage goodies, old soft yarn and trims, plus some German die cuts. No two pots are alike.

Email me or comment if you are interested. If not, I hope to get them Etsy sometime before Easter passes me by and it is too late!

And oops, I can’t forget this–

My winner for my February giveaway is:

PENNY

And don’t forget, if you are entering my St Pats Two Tag swap, they need to be mailed to me by March 7th. Isn’t that the date I said? I forget.

And honestly, it isn’t my fault- look at my calender!!!! It has the first half of Feb. and then goes directly to the second half of June!!!

Last year the calender I had gave me 31 days in each month, and I didn’t notice until August. Now, two years in a row, I get a bad one, what are the odds of that???? And I never know what date or day of the week it is anyway, so this really doesn’t help me at all.

Thanks everyone for entering my drawing. In March, you get another shot at winning, actually two, because I am giving away a bird house on March 27th too.

Good luck!

I’m a crappy little crafter today

Books, Etsy Goodies, holiday decor, swaps, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / February 29, 2008

Beth and I had a fun but frustrating craft day at her house yesterday. Well, I guess I should speak for myself, she was on a roll and doing fine. I, on the other hand was messing everything up, and at one point, said "I am a crappy little crafter today!" And for some reason, that gave us the giggles. Whats a craft day without giggles?

I tried to do a St Pat’s tag for my swap using a rainbow theme. It looked like a Jamaican preschool project.

I gave up on the rainbow colors and stuck with what I knew I could handle. But that wasn’t my only issue. Everything I did, I had to redo.

These tags somehow ended up finished and not horrid after all, but there was a lot of ripping, replacing, and complaining while doing them.

These are for my St Pats Day Two Tag Swap. I will extend the deadline till March 7th if you still want to get in on it. Email me if you do! All you need to make are two tags, and you get two other people’s tags back.

Well, hopefully. I screwed up on Phyllis’s Sweet Treats and Roses Swap and sent her own tag back to her on the recipe book!!

She is in my St Pats swap, so I will make an extra tag to add for her to make up for it.

While at Beth’s I decorated these two old green bottles. And yes, there were some issues as I worked on these too. It simply wasn’t t an easy day for me.

I was smart enough at this point, to use my text from an old book about rainbows, but not try to add rainbow colors after the tag fiasco.

I listed both of these bottles on Etsy this morning, if you are interested in either.

The small one has buttons and a pretty little Made In Japan glass cameo in green on it too.

I had forgotten all about these cameos I had. I used to add them to charm bracelets and make earrings from them.

At one time, I had tons of them. Now, I am down to a couple handfuls. I traded a few to Beth for some of her white, (sorted and cleaned, which is really nice!) vintage buttons.

Notice the nut cups? Beth wants to do a challenge- "what do you do with a nut cup?" Of course, you can always put a nut in it, like she did. I think that if she is going to make herself a hat from it, she should add some old millinery flowers at least.

Look at what found! THE nicest, old wallpaper book I have ever seen. Perfect condition! I just don’t know if I can cut it up and use it, the pages are so pristine. And the book itself is giant! (and heavy)

This picture is on the inside cover, she looks pretty high fa-luting, huh? I’d say this was a high dollar wallpaper book from the looks of it, pretty classy.

And unique too, this metallic penguin paper isn’t typical of what I usually see around.

Another reason to not cut into it is that the designs are all very large. Small patterns are better for collage work. These are beautiful backgrounds, I might just save the book to use as a photo back drop.

What a lucky find! I like flipping through it as if it were a magazine. And the cost was reasonable, only about $20, it cost more than that to ship it! I think the seller should have used book rate, but I was so happy to get my greedy little hands on the book, I didn’t care.

Speaking of spending money on whims, I need to get back to my stairway redo. Time to pickup Sugarwing’s daddy so he can help me pull off the carpet and see just how hard (and expensive) this task is going to be to complete!

Short cuts and tips on blinging up a birdhouse

Etsy Goodies, give away, holiday decor, how-to projects, parties, swaps, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / February 25, 2008

Beth and I are having a party. A self swapping, self linking "What do you LOVE about your Birdie’s home?" party. Details are HERE. And we hope you can all join us and show off your own birdhouses. Either something you have made by hand, or just a favorite of yours on display in your home or gardens.

I’ll be giving one of my own away today, if you leave a comment on this post, and will give a 2nd away the day of our party, Thursday March 27th.

And if you’d like to make one, and could use some tips, here are a few things I learned while decking out a few birdhouses.

First thing I noticed, was that my hands look awful in these photos. Oh well, as grandma, I am getting used to things like that. Wrinkling up old skin, knobby knuckles, saggy neck. Back to birdhouses, and away from old lady skin issues (which I could go on forever about, and you really don’t want to hear).

I’ve bought houses in an assortment of sizes and shapes. Some from the craft departments of Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby and Michaels in unfinished wood or paper mache, some already painted and with cool shapes in the garden department at Hobby Lobby.

All are smaller, some mini, none made for outdoors, they are for decorative purposes only.

The prices have ranged from 67 cents to about $5 at the most.

A minor buffing up with a sanding block will take off any rough edges.

And I discovered that the homes were much easier to decoupage onto if you don’t have to worry about crevices and corners and edges.

So, I base coated all the cracks, and up under the eaves, the perching post, and the inside of the hole as well as any other spots that looked like it would be hard to cover in papers.

No reason to paint the entire piece, since most of it will be covered up.

Although, for this one, I purposely painted all of it, just so there would be some contrast for the photos I was taking of the steps.

And notice that I didn’t sand the edges first? I wanted you to see the rough wood, it shows up better on the blue house, look inside the hole at the jagged edges. A quick little twist of the sanding block inside that will knock those bits down pretty smooth.

Here is a short cut I came up with for making the houses go more quickly. I have been making a LOT of houses, so speedy tips help me a lot.

I used glitter paint to draw lines across old sheet music. You could also use plain glue or glitter glue.

I sprinkled glitter over the lines.

Next, I used a paint brush to spread the rows of glitter out a bit flatter.

With decorative scissors, I cut narrow strips of sheet music, just perfectly sized for gluing onto the edges of the roof or around the base of a bird house.

For this house, I decided to glitter the painted roof. I used the same glitter paint that I used on the sheet music.

It was brushed on after the paint was dry, and then I sprinkled more glitter over it while it was still wet.

After all my prep work was done, I gathered up my supplies. I looked around to find colors and tidbits I wanted to work with.

Go ahead and pull out extras, you are never sure how much you will end up using, but having a pile to chose from, already selected, and in the chosen palette not only saves time, but is an inspiration for the project.

You will need:

a sanding block (or sand paper)

an exacto knife (and be generous with yourself- replace the blades as needed!! It really does make a difference to have a fresh blade)

glue (I always store mine upside down so it flows better)

a Popsicle stick or something similar to burnish paper down with

scissors

goodies to add to the house

Here is a point where you might want to make a pattern. I just go ahead and use my wallpaper. I fit it to one side of the wood at a time, bending and creasing to show myself where to snip it with the scissors.

You can also trim it with your exacto knife.

If you are making more than one birdhouse of the same design, or have a limited amount of old paper and don’t want to waste any, it might be a good idea to make a pattern this way and then using the pattern to cut out your chosen papers.

I poke the perching post through the paper, then trim around it with the exacto knife.

After the paper is cut, I liberally add glue to the house. Attach the paper, and using my exacto knife, poke a hole into the area where I think the house’s hole should be.

I then saw with the exacto knife to the edge, and around the hole to cut it out.

Wooden Popsicle sticks or coffee stirrers are great for rubbing the paper down.

Once the glue is dry, I lightly sand the edges with the sanding block again, being careful to not tear the paper.

Now we get to the fun part. Decorate it! Baubles and buttons and doodads and glitter and stripes of coordinating papers. Old jewelry, ribbons, lace, what ever makes your bird joyous.

I have a few more houses to foof myself. One is actually a little Swiss music/jewelry box that I got for a quarter at a garage sale. But of course, this decopauge technique will work on all sort of different things, not just bird houses.

Another suggestion I have to offer is, that whether you use scrap booking paper, vintage papers, or whatever you decide, the papers do seem to look better with a smaller print, or an over all pattern. The smaller the house you cover, the smaller the print you should try to use.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. My husband is leaving to go back East and I am going to be lonely. So any question is welcome, I could use the company!

I hope you’ll make a few and join the party on the 27th! Feel free to add this button to your blog so people will know you are participating.

I’ll be adding bling kits to my Etsy shop and fill them with fun bits and pieces to work with if you need supplies to make a house.

And remember, I will give away one of my creations to someone who comments on this posting, plus another to someone who leaves a comment on our party day.

And if you would like to be in my St Pats tag swap, you have until March 5th to send me two tags and I will send out two tags to you from another swapper. Email or comment to ask for details.

One thing I love about blogland, is all the holiday decor! I haven’t gotten into decorating for every holiday like this since my boys were toddlers! Most years, I totally ignore St. Pats or Easter as far as setting out pretties or making things for them.

I haven’t seen much about St Pats in blogworld, we have all jumped ahead to Easter. But Easter seems early this year, so I can see why.

Speaking of Easter, My pink bunny watercolor is finished and hanging in my studio, although hopefully not for long, I have it in my Etsy shop now. This is an original watercolor I have added to a vintage wallpaper base, then dooded up with some of my favorite pretties.

Have fun blinging out that birdhouse!

Edit, added on:

Here are some highlights of the $10 Cottage Collage Birdhouse Bling Kits I added to Etsy today. More coming, no two are alike and they take a while to photograph and list!!

Keep in mind that these kits would be pretty used in many projects, not just a birdhouse, and that there is more in a kit than is needed to finish a small house.

Some Easter-y cuteness

Etsy Goodies, paintings, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / February 23, 2008

Today, was a blingy birdhouse day, getting ready for my tutorial on Monday on how to foof up a birdie home.

But, I figured that I’d need to straighten up my work table a bit if I was going to be taking step by step pictures. That turned into a major clean up/redo, trying to make my area more efficient. It took up most of the day, but it was worth the effort, it is so nice to have a cleaned up workspace!

Here is one thing I came up with, a shopping cart full of partial rolls of vintage wallpaper, handy and easy to get to as I needed them right by my chair.

On Monday, I don’t know if my post can actually be called a "tutorial" it will be more like some helpful tips and suggestions on how I do my own birdhouses.

I guess I could have called it "Birdhouse Bling Short Cuts and how to Avoid Things that I Learned the Hard Way"

Beth and I are having a party and showing our birdhouses, kind of a
"What do you LOVE about your birdie’s home" day on Thursday March 27th.

We are asking everyone to post photos of birdhouses you have fixed up and want to swap or sell,( or just keep and enjoy. )

Or, if you’d like, just show off some of your favorite birdhouses you have around your home or gardens. Although, hopefully not all of you have gardens buried in the snow like mine is right now.

Most of the bling kits I had listed on Etsy have sold, but I have a couple left and will try to get more made up. And if you are interested in being a part of our Bird House Bling Day, you can read the details on this post.

Sugarwings and her little cousin, Madison, are coming over tomorrow and I wanted to have a gift for the little girls.

With Easter coming up, I thought they’d look cute in matching shirts.

Michaels had some glitter and pearl paints on sale for TWENTY FIVE CENTS each!!! And I wanted to play with them, so baby girl’s shirts were just perfect for experimenting on.

And it looks like the poor little child could use a new shirt!!

Actually, she had an impromptu sleep over here last night and ran out of clothes. Her grandpa dressed her in a pair of his socks and one of my painting t-shirts while we waited for the dryer load containing some things that might fit her a bit better.

Once we had her dressed a bit more appropriately, and she went back home, I hit the studio, got it cleaned up and got a few things made. A few birdhouses, the painted shirts, and also this piece.

The glue is still wet, and you can see the clamps holding the vintage velvet ribbon hanger in place as it dries.

The picture is a watercolor I did of a pink striped bunny. I mounted it on a sturdy piece of cardboard, over two really pretty wallpapers (vintage- of course!).

I had some gorgeous old velvet ribbon in white and pink, used that, a string of pearl beads and some millinery flowers to "frame" it.

Hopefully, I will get it listed on Etsy tomorrow. I am ready to quit for the day now and go relax for the rest of the evening. My husband is in town for a couple of more days, so I need to spoil him with some home cooking, not sit out here on the computer all night!

Buttons, Baubles, Bottles, & Bears, plus a sick Baby

antiques/junking, Etsy Goodies, magazine pictures or articles, Sugarwings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / February 19, 2008

As much fun as I had out east, it is so good to be back home. But look at this, I came home to a sick baby! She really, really, wants to try to play, but simply isn’t up to it, she is droopy and worn out.

Even with a new hat for dress up and a new doll that was waiting in a package on the porch from Fluffy Flowers, Little Sugarwings just can’t manage to muster up the energy to play. We’ve been cuddled up watching Care Bear videos and now she is napping.

I had even more packages waiting for me when I got back from my trip.

Somerset was done photographing these vintage wallpaper folders filled with ephemera. So, now I have them photographed and ready to list on Ebay. These 3 will be in the next issue of Somerset Life.

This roll of wallpaper was waiting for me too. I had a bit of an Ebay frenzy while on vacation. I didn’t have any work to do, so am afraid that I got a bit carried away with the bidding. I guess I will be expecting a porch full of packages any day now.

This isn’t my favorite pattern, but it really will make a nice background for many projects. It would be hideous on someone’s wall though.

The hats are some from my shopping day in Lucketts, VA. (previous post) I am not a huge yellow fan, but I bought these for the flowers, and most of those are white. Plus, $3.50 each??? What a deal!

For a while, I have been collecting old fabrics to make spring time slipcovers for my couch. I got two more in the mail (Ebay again), the last two on the right. I plan on dipping all of the materials into a tea dye to coordinate them more.

They should be gorgeous with my French book decoupaged wall behind them after they are on my sofa.

I will use an actual fiber dye in a tea stain color, so they will be washable and color safe. The only trouble is, that I will have to face the sewing machine again. Oh no!

Here are the two pretty birdies in trophies that Robin gave to Beth and I. My dilemma, was which birdie could I chose?? They are both so cute.

I went with the one with the pink roses. I simply am a sucker for any rosey buds!

Here are a few of the bottles I filled my suitcase with. There are more still unwrapped. I plan on filling them with vintage buttons, making labels from old wallpaper and ephemera, then tying up the necks with soft ribbon and a charm.

This little fawn was a dollar at Lucketts. How could I let her stay there? I knew she’d be happier at my house with some old millinery flowers as a welcoming lei around her neck.

I always decorate with china figurines of deer for Christmas, but I think she will be quite nice at Easter too. If you think about it, the fawns are born this time of year, not in December!

These buttons were $1 a bag in Leesburg. The simple mother of pearl ones are teeny, meant for doll clothes or baby clothes, I think. These won’t be going into my button jars to sell, I’ll save these to make paper doll dresses.

And look a the tiny white butterflies!! Oh, the things that I can do with those! I can’t wait to start.

But for now, I hear the baby monitor calling out for Grandmama. My poor little sick girl is up from her short nap (3rd one of the day) She is going to need some snuggling.

Marty Jo and Karkie Jo

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, give away, swaps, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / February 16, 2008

Happy Birthday, Mom!

She’s been gone a few years now and it still seems like just yesterday. I am always thinking of reasons to call her, and then am sad I can’t pick up the phone and let her know about the latest thing going on in my life, the funny things Sugarwings just said, or just to complain about how cold it is outside.

My mom spoiled me when I was little. Spoiled me rotten. She used to make the best silver dollar pancakes and feed me breakfast in bed.

On school days. Now who does that???? My boys were lucky to get a Pop Tart on their way out the door.

She made homemade play doh and finger paints for me, as well as sewing one Barbie dress after another for my dolls as I sat under the sewing table and played. She always had time to take the scraps from her projects and turn them into doll clothes.

Mom was a quilter and a wonderful seamstress. I wish I had inherited some of that skill from her.

She made this log cabin quilt for me in the 80s. Luckily, it isn’t trendy and dated, it is as pretty now as it was when she first made it. I guess I have always loved these colors.

I had a blast going through her sewing room, picking through her fabrics for just the right combos to make this quilt. Her sewing room was the heart of her house and when she died, I could hardly bare to go in to it. I remember sitting on the cement basement floor in there sobbing as I held onto a pile of fabrics.

That room had so much of her in it. I wish now that I had scooped up and saved more of it for myself. I’d love to see a pile of her materials stacked up just one more time.

Of course, Mom always got carried away with projects. If she was making a quilt, she would make a bunch of pillows from the scraps. Never just one or two.

hmm, who does that remind you of?? I do take after her in a lot of ways, even if it doesn’t involve sewing.

She was funny, too. She loved to be SILLY. There was nothing on earth she enjoyed more than being goofy with my sisters and me.

I find myself singing the same silly made up songs to my dogs and to Sugarwings that my mom used to sing to me when I was little. I hope that someday my kids remember me as silly and goofy and fun the way I remember my mom.

I hope they remember the little ways I spoiled them too. And that they will cherish the things that I have made for them over the years the way I cherish hers. I hope they will always remember me, the way I will always remember my mom.

Moving on to happier thoughts- I need to announce the winner of my OWOH giveaway and thank Lisa again for her gracious idea and the time she put into it.

The winner is:

Heather of Blum Studios.

And the winner of my one year blog anniversery/Valentine’s prize is:

Jessi at Wild Rose Stamper

Thanks to everyone who commented and came by to visit. I still have the February prize to come and all comments for the month count in it. Also, I am giving away a couple of birdie houses.

One for the tutorial and one for the day of the party I am co-hosting with Beth.

And you still have a couple of weeks to enter my St Pats Day Two Tag Swap. All you need to do is send two Irish themed tags to me with a self addressed stamped envelope. (or put a dollar in the envelope to cover postage if that is easier for you)

And I will take two tags from two different swappers, put them in your SASE and send them back to you.

If you will have them to me by March 5 ( Friday), I can slip them back into the mail over the weekend, so they go out on Monday.

I am having a great time in the DC area and found the BEST antique shops!! Photos later.