yorkies – Page 10 – Karla's Cottage

A new look for the cost of a quart of paint and a bit of shuffling around

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), flowers, Hand Painted Furniture, hand painted signs, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / April 10, 2010

Well, I just had to finish the porch redo, and honestly, it was a quickie. I used stuff that was already here and a bit of paint. Sugarwing's blue and pink chippy chair was in the garage, and I'd
already bought the hydrangea to plant. So, of course, it won't stay
here,it has to go into the ground. Too bad, its just right for the spot.

The only purchase I had to make was a quart of "Birds Egg Blue" paint from Ace Hardware. I fell for the name, as well as the soft shade. I added speckles of brown paint over the blue for an even more egg-like look.

To do this, I watered down a squirt of dark brown acrylic craft paint, dipped in a stiff brush, and then flicked my thumb across the brush to splash speckles over the blue paint.

Its a little messy, you need to have a wet paper towel handy to dab up the most rambunctious speckles, they tend to fly everywhere. I don't cover and tape off anything, that seems to take longer than just wiping up the runaway flecks.

No puppies yet! Twinks is resting up and getting bigger by the moment. We'll both be glad when they are here.

I'm still not thrilled with the white wash on the rockers. I might repaint them later on, or else scour garage sales for something better. Like a glider. Or a porch swing. That's the fun part, always planning for a change, or being on the hunt for a better idea.

The flowers on the shutters had been a deep, magenta red like the door used to be. I pinked them up a little and added some blue hydrangeas to tie all the colors in together.

I was going for a rustic, vintagey feel, so after painting, I used sandpaper for some distressing.

The shutters themselves started out as a pair of black, bi-fold doors from a garage sale for a couple bucks. The other half of the set of doors is painted to match these, but I have those inside my breezeway on each side of the entry way door. (which opens onto the kitchen- we don't use the front of the house. You walk straight into our kitchen or the studio when you come here, the two most loved rooms of the house!)

Its a gorgeous, spring day here, and our niece's church group is busy working on the community garden that we loaned them space for. They've decided to put up a fence, which is smart, we have about 3 billion rabbits and almost that many deer watching through the trees eagerly waiting to see what we are planting for their lunch.

Before I forget, the winner of a Peat Pot Pretty is:

Sasha Girl

And if you want to win one, I am drawing names from the list of Google Friend Connect followers, for every 50 followers I get. You name stays in the contest as long as I am doing this.

The next drawing will be at 200.

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.

Bejewelled

antiques/junking, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), jewelry, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / April 3, 2010

We are hoping that the Easter Bunny will bring us some puppies. Twinks gets bigger each day, and is very restless. I've had to make a bed on the floor for her, since she can no longer jump up onto furniture.

So, I put a blanket down in my room for her to sleep on, but most of the night she paces and wants up with me. I scoop her up, but an hour later, she needs to get down again. Then, she paces some more. I was tempted to lock her out of the room so I could sleep, but I really need to keep an eye on her and be ready to help with the delivery. The most important thing about newborn Yorkies is to keep them warm. Sometimes, during delivery the mom gets busy with the newest pups and one will get pushed aside and gets lost and cold. If their body temperature drops too much, they will die. I've learned the hard way to stay with the mom constantly and be there for the babies when they come.

At least we have a pretty view while we are not sleeping at night! I saw Andrea's new ceiling fan/chandelier and asked where she got it. When I saw they were on sale for 1/2 price with free shipping, I ordered one for the bedroom. Our fan was getting old, loud, and sometimes would just quit for a day or so. (I was worried about fire hazards)

This thing is gigantic. And heavy. But glorious! I am probably going to paint the ceiling medallion to match the fan better, its glazed bronze now. I'll swipe some ivory paint over it, letting the bronze peek though.

My poor husband has deserted Twinks and I, he seems to think he needs some sleep. Sugarwing's passed on more poison kisses to me, and I have caught her latest cold. Which make me snore 50 times worse than I normally do (and normally, it ain't pretty). Plus, I'm so worn out with the limited sleep Twinkle is letting me have, that when I do zonk out for an hour or so, it is DEEP and apparently LOUD. So, Rich is sleeping on the office sofa till the puppies are safely here and my snoring is under control.

The office is in our addition, over the studio, and he jokes that my snoring is so loud, he has to go sleep in another house.

Oops, I hope any potential Silver Bella room mates didn't read that.

Today, I'll be listing some new goods in the Boutique. I've got lots of sparklies and some ornate perfume bottles.

What I have to say has nothing to do with the photos. I just wanted to let you know that my friend, Hope, (who designed my blog layout) is starting an online journaling class. We met at Silver Bella, but got to be friends at a blogger's luncheon in Virginia that Heather set up.

At the lunch, she brought one of her journals with us to have us all sign as a memento. So, I've seen her work in person, and have to tell you, its really, really good!

She has had to deal with my endless questions about various blog/online/design oddities and has been a thoughtful teacher and very helpful when I was too dense to understand something that she was patiently explaining for the 5th email.

So, I'm quite sure she'll be an excellent teacher! Check out her class, Nostalgic Musings, HERE.

There are some great classes available out there now. Mary (my Craft Day bud) is hosting another Artist Class right now, with projects I wish I had time to do… Her last one was impressive and I hear this one is too.

I'd better get busy listing all these schmancy, bejeweled baubles so I can get on with my day. We are hoping to get the pontoon out of storage and into the water today. And those pesky taxes need some attending also. urgh.

I hope you have some fun plans for Easter! I might be taking a boat ride…

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.

March giveaway does really exist and some Tag Book Tendinitis

celebrations, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, family, give away, jewelry, Sugarwings, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / March 17, 2010

Happy St Pats! There is a great parade downtown Lawrence, but I had to skip it today. Sugarwings went with the rest of the family and I stayed home to rest.

Remember the Frozen Charlotte flu that knocked me out of commission a couple of weeks ago? It turned into pleurisy. But on top of that, I seem to have some tendinitis in my left arm, from making over 70 tag books and typing out the labels. Funny, when you are over 50 and call the Dr. to say that your chest and left arm hurts, everyone starts to panic.

But, I knew it wasn't a heart attack, I could just tell. But my Dr. wouldn't see me to say what it was, I had to go to the ER. And since my stubborn, doctor's office hating, husband has high cholesterol issues and a family history of heart problems, I knew that if I refused to go in to get checked, he would use this as an excuse to not get checked himself if a future chest pain ever came up for him.

Since I KNEW it wasn't my heart, I finished all the tag books (from the tags that were already here, I am expecting a few more yet) and got them to the PO before I went to the ER. The pain had been around for more than 24 hours, I figured that if it was an emergency, I'd already have been dead.

So, the tags are in the mail, I am feeling better, but am supposed to rest up. I might take a couple of days off from typing, this hurts!

Sometimes it sucks to get old. Things hurt more. And linger longer.

Just ask poor old Bookie and Sparkle, they know how I feel. Those two hardly ever leave their pillow by the space heater. But I did coax them out to pose in their St Pats finery.

I'm going to take today and tomorrow off to get cozy and rest up while I recover from Frozen Charlotte Flu induced pleurisy and Tag Book Tendinitis. I've got some reading to do for book club and need to go see Alice in Wonderland.

Before I go, I wanted to show you the giveaway for March. Yep, its once again past mid-month by the time I remembered to announce my month long contest….

This is a china shard pendant that I've made from a vintage plate, a rose quartz cab, two rose quartz beads, and vintage crystals. This giveaway is retroactive, all comments all month, all posts go into the hat.

Now, back to my ibuprofen. I hope you all find a lucky four leaf clover and a pot of gold today!

Pretty girls

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), fairies, family, Sugarwings, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / February 27, 2010

Pixie Pie and Sugarwings had a mini fairy fest last night with some new sets of wings. Now, my little fairies have plenty of wings, but there is nothing like a spankin new pair to get the fun going. Its kind of like when I have a room full of stuff to work with, but still get really excited about a flea market haul of new (old) supplies.

The little girls weren't the only ones who got treats yesterday. I splurged and took all three little Dorkies to the groomer. I usually cut their hair myself, but its easier to do outside in nice weather. I hate cleaning up all the hair after trying to cut it indoors.

Since I was splurging on groomer fees, I went all out. Twinks has painted toenails and a sparkly bow too.

It was so worth it. Look at that face! She deserves a hair cut that no one makes fun of. When I do the styling myself, there isn't much style to it. She is smart enough to act embarrassed about how funny she looks from my chopping. Last night, she was showing off, knowing she looked GOOD from the groomer's work!

Plus, she's going to be a mama, she needs some pampering.

Thanks for all the Charlotte shopping! I've been packing boxes for hours tonight. I think there are a couple left in the shop, not many. Man, those went fast. You'd have thought these girls had wings too, the way they flew out of here.

Thanks!

Winter on the Fairy Berry Trail

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, Sugarwings, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, vintage paper/collage art, wallpaper, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / February 6, 2010

Sugarwings and I had some fun in the snow yesterday. After all the snow we've gotten this season, I am surprised to say the words "fun" and "snow" in the same sentence! This winter's snowfalls have been brutal and cold, and mostly made me feel trapped. But this one! This one was just delightful!

Fluffy, fat, flakes, and 33 degrees. This was the kind of snow that just beckoned us outdoors and into the woods. So we bundled up and headed out to the Fairy Berry Trail (Sugarwings is wearing a Calvin Klein ruffled coat on sale from TJMax for only $10, and a scarf knitted by my favorite non-stop knitter, Beth)

We filled our pockets with little vials of glitter to decorate the snow fairies we had planned to make, but the fluffy snow wasn't cooperating, and the ground was so warm, that when we rolled a snow ball, it collected mud and leaves and the white snow didn't stay white for long. Even a full bottle of glitter wouldn't have enhanced those brown lumps we created.

It didn't matter. We had a blast crawling through the fallen trees and making a fort in the piles of wood. In the summer time we stick to the trail to avoid poison ivy and bugs and who knows what else, so it was a treat to step off the trail into the "wilderness" of the woods and do some exploring.

She wanted to explore this old shed too, but its so full of junk, I can't let her in there. Too bad I don't have it fixed up yet, it would have been a good place to use as a cabin on a snowy day. In the past, it was my once a month antique store, and there are piles of unwanted inventory everywhere. It needs a good cleaning, so I can make it into a play house for the little Fairy grand baby. She is sure drawn to the building every time we go out in the yard.

Its nice to know that she likes a lot of the same things I do.

After getting all wet and cold in the snow, I warmed her up with a bubble bath while I wrapped in a robe and sat by the tub to read. I'm in the middle of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Its well done, with using the original text, just adding ninja zombie killing moves.

Anyway, as I sat there with her, I started thinking about repainting the bathroom a robin's egg blue with a sheer gold wash over the top.

Now, why can't I just enjoy a snow day, without thinking about redoing the shed or repainting the bathroom?????

Did you notice anything missing in the snow pictures? No Twinkle! She has a "date" with Teddy. Its quiet around here without her around, but if all goes well, I'll be ankle deep in yorkies soon enough.

I'll leave you with some pics of what is new in the Boutique. I need to go take some more photos and get more listed, before Sugarwings comes back to spend the day with me again.

Lighting

Chandeliers, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), paintings, parties, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / January 17, 2010

Remember the rugs I want from Curious Sofa? I am still jone-sing for those, but right now, they aren't available in the size I need for the kitchen. My house is big, but my rooms are small, in the old part of the house. And this is AFTER removing some walls!

I found these plain bamboo mats at Old Time Pottery for under $25 each. They are far, far, far from the quality of the ones at Curious Sofa. Those have wider, more solid planks of bamboo, more floor like than this. These are pretty light weight, and are a temporary solution for me.

To foof them up a bit, I drew on them with a brown Sharpie marker. It was an easy, quick project to do, I just sat on the floor and doodled away while Sugarwings and Twinkle played with toys next to me.

The reason I love the bamboo rugs for my kitchen to start with, is that they are low maintenance. If something spills, or mud gets tracked in, just sweep and mop them, and its a speedy clean up. But, I don't have to worry about as much filth showing (and with 3 dogs, a 3 year old, and a lot of grown men in living in this country house, there is plenty of filth!) because they are darker than the horrid light colored tiles we have.

By the way, if you are ever tempted to install cream colored flooring, just whack yourself over the head with one of the tiles instead. DO NOT give in to impulse!! I regret it daily. No matter how clean my house is, those floors always look bad.

(please don't tell Twinkle that the photo is of the rug, not of her, it would break her heart.)

I'm wishing we'd gone for darker tile, or even a really dark stained pine plank…

Soft lighting helps, though! Last night we had a dinner party, and I made use of all my lamps.

The overhead lights got turned off and I switched on all the smaller lamps and lit candles instead. (this rug still needs some Sharpie doodling) There is something about the soft glow coming from the corners of the room that makes me fall in love with my home all over again.

When we built the cabinets, I had electrical outlets added above them. There is one in the corner cabinet too. In that one, I drilled holes to run an extension cord up through, so I could have a little 25 watt lamp on each shelf.

And of course, you can't beat candle light either. I use this old chandelier with no wiring ($4 at a flea market) and the sockets perfectly fit tea lights. Previously, I used candelabras, till I realized that they are always in the way and block the view of the person across the table.

Tea lights don't drip, and burn for just over 2 hours or so, just right for a relaxed dinner with friends.

The snow still has not melted around here, and I have decided to give up on waiting. So I trudged through it to claim these garden chairs I wanted for the breakfast nook. Much better! The hand painted Victorian chairs are now in the studio, and I think this corner is much less sweet. I loved the chairs, and I loved the curtains, but when I got those great new lace panels, I realized that I needed some juxtaposition, or my house would look like a little old lady lived in it.

Well, I might be getting old, but I hope to not let my house reflect it… Some contrast, and some junk help keep a home whimsical and not fussy.

Bookie

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, paintings, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / December 11, 2009

Poor Bookie. He just had his 14th birthday and isn't doing so well. See how he lists to the side? That is permanent. I wonder if he's had a stroke? We've bought him a space heater and the guy rarely leaves his pillow by the warm air now. He is only sitting on the couch to please me, and desperately wants to get back to his pillow.

Its so sad to see our pets age. To me, he'll always be a baby, but actually, he's a little old man. And smells pretty bad too. Sometimes I have to poke him two or three times to see if he is still alive, and I am dreading the day when the pokes don't get him to move. On the other hand, I will be relieved to think of him falling asleep on his favorite pillow by the space heater and drifting off to comfort. I can tell he is just not been himself for yeas, but lately, it seems much worse.

I've gotten used to Bookie hiding away, apart from the family and have let him go his own way. But opening up the boxes of hand painted ornaments from years past and seeing his happy little face, in a younger, happier time made me realize just how much he had changed.

You know, this isn't the post I started to write, it was going to be photos of my holidayed up living room. But I think I'll save that one for another day, and go hold my little stinky guy for a bit and tell him I'll always love him while I still can.

A warm pink glow to ward off the freezing weather

Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), family, give away, holiday decor, Sugarwings, yorkies

By Karla Nathan / December 9, 2009

Just a note to let you know that my email is being a bit screwy. Its not a Typepad issue, Typepad has been very sweet and cooperative lately. I don't know what the deal is, just that I respond to emails (not just on comments, regular emails too) and they are not getting through.

Its frustrating to answer emails, then get a message from the Postmaster or the Mailer-Daemen saying they are undeliverable. Sorry if you were one of the dozens of people I couldn't respond to! There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason, some (quite a few, actually!) messages just are hitting a dead end.

We've had our first snow and it was a doozy. More cold than deep, but enough to keep me indoors by the roaring fire. Trouble is, my husband is out of town and the stack of wood is getting low. I'm feeling like a wimp, but just DO NOT want to go out there in the single digit weather and fill a wheelbarrow with wood.

On the other hand, a fire in the wood stove sure feels better than just turning up the thermostat. (and is much cheaper too!) I'd better man-up and go load the wheel barrow.

We've been staying indoors decorating and redecorating the tree. I think that Sugarwings will make her pink tree an ongoing project for the season.

Each ornament has been on every single branch of her tree at least once so far. Sometimes all the decorations seem to be on the same branch at the same time.

I filled a basket will all of the unbreakable ones and let her do as she pleased with them. Of course, she had a little bit of help from Twinkle.

Although, after a couple of hours of hard work, even Twinkle was getting tired. And Sugarwings was just getting started.

I don't think this will get old for my fairy grand baby, she's in pink heaven with that glowing tree.

(and I am loving those heavenly curtains!)

As for me, I think I'm done with my share of hall decking. Its a mini explosion of holiday glam this year for me, and I'm kind of liking it kind of laid back.

Well, laid back for ME, that is!

These peacock feather fans go a long way in adding some flair when I tied one to a lamp shade and another to a plain white feather wreath.

Years ago, I used to raise peafowl and these feathers were gathered from Percy. He dropped them all every summer and it was a treasure hunt for me to crawl around the barn and walk out in the woods every day searching for feathers. Some days, I 'd find one or two, other days maybe a couple dozen.

Now, I've taken bundles of the plumes and wrapped them with vintage ribbons, added a millinery flower and a jewel. Plus a touch of glitter.

There are a couple left from Miss Frenchie's and I have them listed in the Boutique, as well as the celluloid box I've posed the fan next to.

Don't forget that you can win this book by Amy Barickman (isn't she a peach to offer it?) Along with the book, you'll get a couple of hankies from me to use in the projects and a gift certificate from Amy to use for downloads from Vintage Workshop.

My December giveaway is open to everyone. No tricks where you have to post about it on your blog, or add yourself as a follower. All comments, all posts in the month count. I just like to say thanks for taking the time to come by to visit!

I just wish you were here in person and could help me heft that wheelbarrow of wood.

Also, if you'd like to see more holiday decor, go visit
Thoughts from Over the Rainbow

for a hall decking party!