Sugarwings fell yesterday while at her cousin’s birthday party at a big indoor playcenter. She has a broken arm and is now going into surgery.
She has been much braver than I have. Her therapist father and nursing student mother have been great. I just cry.
When the Dr. asked her how she was she said she was ok but her grammie was not.
Earlier in the day my husband gashed his leg open with a chain saw. He is doing better and our fairy baby will be soon.
The sale in the Boutique and on Etsy is still on!
Use this link
and type in the code:
2012
then hit recalculate, and save 40% in the boutique!
for Etsy, type in the code:
happy2012
to receive 50% off!
Thanks for all the clearance shopping you have done with me! I've been boxing, packaging and shipping all week. Now, I'll be cleaning up and deleting all the "sold" items, rethinking some items, and restocking soon. In the meantime, you still have time to take advantage of these prices!
My visit to California to stay with my pal, Kim, was such fun. Did I mention what a PERFECT hostess she is?? Her family made me feel very welcome. Their house is beyond pretty, but is also comfortable and homey too.
I'm the kind of person who likes to be doing stuff, so when I stay with someone, I'm always happy when they let me play with paint and redo something in their house. Once while visiting the Guncles, they let me repaint all their kitchen cabinets, and on a trip to Indiana, Sissy let me redo her bathroom. I enjoy the process and like to see the changes, and when the host or hostess works along side me, its good chatting/bonding time.
Kim's bedroom was filled with a set that she'd had since she was a little girl and it was sentimental to her, but needed an upgrade.
While I was there, we had two classes for all the ladies who attended her day long gathering, one was a wire wrapped wreath with a nesting bird.
I'll be teaching this one again at Paper Cowgirls in Texas if you are interested- or please email me if you'd like to come to my studio to make a Valentines Day version on Sat. Jan 28th, I'll do a class here in my studio for the afternoon- $65 includes all materials, lunch and dessert. It will start at 10am, and everything needed to create the wire wreath with two nesting love birds will be included.
After we finish the wreath, we'll make some Valentine cards, I'll have some collage sheets made up for you to cut and paste.
And you know me, it will be the Good Stuff! All filled with vintage goodness.
The other class we did in California was a faux finish and paint technique lesson that I showed on a small box.
Kim and I used the same ideas from the painted box lesson to redo the nightstands in her bedroom.
No sanding, no stripping, no paint!
Yep, NO PAINTING
We had Glidden Gripper, a water based, bonding primer tinted to a color she liked (Martha Stewart's "glass of milk"), and painted two coats of it onto the pieces. Right over the hardware and knobs.
Then, we scuffed it up with sandpaper to distress the corners and edges.
To jazz the nightstands up, she covered the tops in vintage sheet music. To decoupage ripple free, we painted the glue onto the table top, then dipped the paper into water to soften it, laid it into the glue, and then did a coat of glue over the top.
In the front corners of the table tops, we hand painted some sweet little vines for a special touch.
So, at this point, its primed, distressed, and decoupaged.
Over that, we brushed on a creamy brown glaze, and wiped it off. We glazed over the sheet music too.
Apply the tinted glaze heavily in corners and around the edges of the piece, and wipe away toward the centers. You want to leave the corners, cevices, and edges darker than the flat, smooth parts and centers of the doors, top, and sides.
The last step was Minwax Polycryllic, a clear, water based topcoat.
For more short cut furniture painting tips, look under "tutorials" on my side bar.
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(you can click on this, open it in a larger window, save it to your computer, then print it)
This Sunday, sign ups are open for Birdsong! We filled up halfway this week, but still have room for new friends to come and play with us here at my cottage studio.
If I don't see you then, maybe I'll see you for the Valentine Wreath party? I do love company!
Well, I have had some feedback on the Song Of Love, Valentine wreath class that I am offering. Ladies are worried that the date is too close to Christmas and that they had too little warning to make plans. After the holidays,all of us (and our bank books!) seem to be recovering from the hectic times.
So, I decided to switch the date to later in the month.
Saturday January 28th from 10 till 5.
And to lower the cost a bit. $65 instead of $75.
But I'm not lowering the value! I'll still be providing lots of vintage goodness to embellish the wire wrapped and beaded wreath with two ephemera covered, nesting love birds.
We will spend the day together, creating in my studio with lots of pretties and vintagey supplies.
Lunch, beverages, and dessert are included.
It will be a small group, and seating will be limited.
No two finished projects will be the same, you'll get everything you need to complete a wreath, plus fun piles to dig through to personalize your own piece. If you get finished early, plan on hanging out for the rest of the afternoon and making Valentines with us.
I'll have plenty of supplies out for you to play with.
All you will need to bring is a basic tool kit, everything else will be waiting for you.
And if you are one of the people who were considering coming on January 14th, and that date works out better for you, please let me know, I'd be happy to have you then if your plans are already set.
And if you'd like to come for an entire weekend this spring, Birdsong Two signups are open now for previous guests. This weekend we will open registration to new friends.
Plus, don't forget, there is a sale in the boutique and in my Etsy shop. Thanks to all of you who keep Sugarwings and Dewdrop supplied in fairy wings and glitter by supporting my stores!
Use this link
and type in the code:
2012
then hit recalculate, and save 40% in the boutique!
for Etsy, type in the code:
happy2012
to receive 50% off!
The sale in the Boutique and on Etsy has gone so well that I am amping it up for the new year!
Use this link
and type in the code:
2012
then hit recalculate, and save 40% in the boutique!
for Etsy, type in the code:
happy2012
to receive 50% off!
When I was out in California at Kim's house for her holiday gathering, I had a lovely surprise. All of the attendees treated me to swap gifts even though I hadn't joined in on the swaps myself!
One of the ideas for a swap was really unique, I think it was called the Smelly Swap. It really is better than it sounds. Everyone creatively packaged up either a home made or a favorite store bought cream/lotion/bath salt type item.
What a beautiful variety of sweet smelling potions!
II was also given one of each of the ornies from the silver/pink/tourquiose ornament swap. After seeing Kim's own tree decked out in swap pretties from years past, I was extra thrilled to get my own!
Everytime I go to an art event, I tell myself that I don't have time to be in swaps, then I kick myself during the exchange when I see what I missed out on. So, lately, I've tried to do one swap per event no matter how busy I am. But for this one, I just couldn't swing them and was already sorry before I even saw what everyone was bringing.
It was so touching to be included after all!! I'll treasure these beauties forever.
And the gifts just kept on coming! There were three swaps, and I was given presents for all of them! This will be my holiday necklace for 2012, I can't wait to jingle as I strut around in my pink and blue, jingle bell, snowman, chrystal, charm necklace.
Thanks ladies, I LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!!
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And if you'd like to make a Valentines Day's Love bird version of the wreath class I taught in California, you are invited to an afternoon workshop in the studio on Saturday Jan. 14th to make a wire wrapped wreath with two ephemera covered, nesting love birds for Valentine's Day. Email me for details, it will be $75 for all materials, and lunch included.
EDIT: The date and price for the class has changed to Saturday January 28th for $65
Happy New Year!!
I can't think of a better way to start the year than by planning parties to look forward to.
Birdsong 2011 was sooooo fun, I just have to do it again! For 2012, we will gather at my cottage on Friday April 27 and Saturday the 28th.
Please feel free to add this button to your blog
I hope you can join us for the party!
Sign ups are open first to previous attendees starting January 1st.
After one week, the registration will open to new friends.
To join us for a weekend of creating, please check out the Birdsong webpage for the Pay Pal button, at the bottom of the post. If you would rather pay by check, please email me.
Cost for the weekend is $295
And if you can't wait till then, you are invited to an afternoon workshop in the studio on Saturday Jan. 14th to make a wire wrapped wreath with two ephemera covered, nesting love birds for Valentine's Day. Email me for details, it will be $75 for all materials, and lunch included.
EDIT: The date and price for the class has changed to Saturday January 28th for $65
You will get two, 3 hour classes each day, along with, lunch, drinks, and treats. You are also welcome to stay and finish up projects and talk with friends at the end of the day, if you'd like a bit more time to play.
Each morning we will have some mingle time with coffee and chatting before we begin our classes.
On Saturday night, we'll have a little swappin/shoppin party with pizza and wine, vendor tables filled with vintage goodies, and luscious swaps to trade artwork.
Please let me know if you would like to host a swap.
This event will be held in my studio in Lawrence, KS. The studio is at my cottage, on ten acres right on the edge of town. I live 50 minutes from the Kansas City, MO airport and ten minutes from many hotels.
This will be a casual event, down-home and comfy. No reason to wear a party dress to work in, I'm a tee shirt and jeans person myself. I want you to feel relaxed and at home while you are visiting. Remember, you will be a guest at my home, not just a student at a workshop!
Our theme for the weekend will be nature inspired, just right for a Springtime celebration. What better way to welcome Spring than being with a group of creative women and honoring Mother Nature with our art?
Photos of the classes and info about what we will be making are to come soon.
Lisa McIlvain will return with her bag of arty tricks for one class, and my talented buddy, Beth Leintz will also be sharing her skills for another class. I will be teaching one class each afternoon.
Lisa
Lisa McIlvain's work has been featured in mulitiple Stampington publications and she teaches at Paper Cowgirls as well as many other Texan locations throughout the year. You can see her work at:
http://tarnishedandtattered.blogspot.com/
Beth
Beth Leintz is an avid antiquer and sells her estate sale and auction finds at antique malls, shows and on-line. She enjoys using vintage paper, notions, trims & fabric in collage and quilting creations and her work has been published in Simply Handmade, Sew Somerset and Art Quilting Studio. You can visit her at:
bethleintz.typepad.com/gathering_dust
Karla (me)
My own work has also been featured in Stampington/Somerset publications as well as Romantic Homes, Romantic Country, Better Homes and Garden Paint Decor, and others. I've done over 50 articles as writer, stylist, designer, or artist. My background is in painting, but I have a love of all things vintage and pretty. I also love having company here at the cottage and look forward to seeing you here!
If you would like to be a sponsor for this event, please contact me at
karlanathan@sbcglobal.net
You will be listed on this blog, on my blogroll, and on Karla's Cottage on the sidebar for a year.
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And for more news, the sale in the Boutique and on Etsy has gone so well that I am amping it up for the new year!
Use this link
and type in the code:
2012
then hit recalculate, and save 40% in the boutique!
And in Etsy, use the code:
happy2012
to receive 50% off.
The class I taught in California at Kim's house went well and the ladies made some very pretty wire wrapped wreaths. I enjoyed it so much, I'll be doing a few more of these workshops, with variations on the theme. This one is called "Song of Spring" and features springtime colors with a turquoise egg. I'll be teaching it at Paper Cowgirls this spring.
I've also made one up in pinks with two nesting love birds for Valentines Day, called "Song of Love". If you'd like to make one with me here at the studio, please email me for details. It will be on Saturday, Jan. 14th at 10am. I'll fix up some lunch and tasty desserts, and we'll spend the day playing with my vintage goodies.
Everything you need to make one will be included in the kit, but I'll also have tables of goodies to chose from so everyone can personalize their creation. I love it when no two come out the same. We'll add some crystals, charms, and decorated tags to the trailing ribbons too.
We will wire wrap and bead the wreath itself, and add a nest made of ephemera. The two birds will also be decked out in old papers, and then surrounded with lace and velvet leaves.
And at my house, a project isn't complete till you slap a few millinery blooms on it. I hope I'll see you here for the playdate! $75 for the class (includes lunch and treats) and all you need to finish your own wreath.
And if you'd rather come to play in the studio for a whole weekend… Sign ups for Birdsong 2 begin soon! On Jan. 1st, returning guests can reserve a spot, and after a week, we will be welcoming new friends to our flock of Birdsong friends!
My resolutions for the new year?
1- I will have more classes throughout the year. And I'm going to make sure I follow through with that right now, this is one resolution that won't be broken. I was so happy to be able to teach and travel in 2011, I want to do more of that.
2- Use the Good Stuff (well, I already do that, but I have to push myself to not hoard it. I won't that that for granted, it needs to be a resolution again this year.)
3-Share the wealth! Yes, I'll make sure all of my arty kits for classes are brimming with the Good Stuff that I love.
4-Enjoy the moment. I won't be freaking myself out about upcoming events, and will enjoy what is right in front of me NOW.
I'd add something about gettting to the gym or eating better, but I know not to push it.
. I used to think resolutions were silly things just waiting to be broken, but over the years, I've learned to take the new year as a time to reflect and honestly plan out what I want to see happen in the upcoming seasons. I make a promise to myself to do better, or accomplish something I'd like to do. It helps.
I wish you the best of luck with your pledges for 2012, too.
With a house filled with helpers staying with me for Christmas, I thought it would be the perfect time to do a little end of the year clean up. We emptied all of the dress up clothes from the girl's closet and hung about 30 hooks all around it, right at their height.
We still need a solution for the pile of hats and other things that we didn't have enough hooks for. For now, they are tossed into a too-small tub. I need a couple of baskets to hold them all.
I didn't realize just how many dress up clothes we had, I just knew that they always ended up in one big pile at the bottom of the closet after all the sprites were done playing with them. Now, they have hooks to hang them up on, and so far, its been much tidier. After the holiday bash, clean up went much smoother in the dress up area.
My favorite place to find fairy princess garb is at garage sales. Most of this closet full of fluff is all second hand, the rest is thoughtful gifts from friends who know how much we love to play with wings and fairy dresses.
You are never too big to be a princess.
Or an elfish prince.
Around here, even the dolls get in the act. For Christmas, our Gypsy gave all the little girls a doll from the Goodwill that she made over into a fairy queen.
The nicest thing happened to my son's Gypsy Beloved on Christmas Eve. She went to the Goodwill to buy supplies to make gifts for her 6 little ones and a guy stopped her in the parking lot to give her a $100 bill.
What a thoughtful Santa!
And she made Dewdrop this sock monster doll, with sockies the little baby has out grown, and a onesie that I had painted for her.
I made some creatures myself, these gifts were sent to the Guncles.
I'd seen the cutest little birds with pine cone hats that I knew Guncle Randy would love, and of course, I decided I could make my own instead of buying one. The elf and the birdie are both paper clay.
If you need some vintage goodies to trim out your own creations, don't forget there is a sale in both of my shops right now.
Everything is 30% off in the Boutique if you use THIS LINK.
And the small print says: The only catch is, that I won't be doing any mailing for a few days. You might not recieve your box till after New Years.
And if you click on the website directly, you can't get the sale price, its only available from THIS LINK
When you fill your shopping cart, you need to type in the words- happyholidays – then hit "recalculate" to get the special price. Its simple to do.
For Etsy, use the same code word- happyholidays -to get 30% off there too.
And by the way, a Very Happy Holidays to you all!
This is my favorite holiday photo from our weekend. Little Dewdrop snuck up onto the table while her elfish father was fixing dinner. He wore the hat and cape for most of Christmas and I thought it added a festive touch.
We spent a lot of our time in the kitchen, and having it be one, big open space was just great. Now, why didn't we think of this years ago? Its made our house such a cozier place.
We had one wonderful meal after another, and since the kids were staying with us instead of driving back to the woods and going to their yurt each night, we even went all out for breakfast in the mornings. On Christmas Day, our Gypsy made this fluffy, puff of deliciousness for us from a recipe we saw in the Sunday paper that morning.
Poor Sugarwings had been pretty sick all week leading up to the big day, and stayed here with us for most of the time, with her parents having sleepovers with her at our cottage. She rallied by the time Christmas Eve came around, but was still not quite herself.
We were sad to see her so weak and tired, but It was nice to have a houseful for the whole week, instead of just seeing them for the dinner and present times.
This year, between Sugarwings being sick, and me travelling, I was behind on gift buying. I did a whirlwind shopping trip, throwing things into the cart as I buzzed down the aisles. By the time I got home, I wasn't even sure what I had for who, I just hoped it was done. And for some reason, I bought wrapping paper, not bags…. silly mistake! If you wait till the last minute to buy gifts, there is no time for wrapping, those late gifts need to be slipped into bags.
That was NOT the highlight of my week.
But watching these little fairies tear through that paper was.
Dewdrop was very fond of her new toys. She was busy giving all the dollies lots of kisses and hugs.
She wasn't quite sure what to think about the dress up wig that her big sister got though.
I think it added a lot to the festivities, as she wore it to pass out the gifts.
We had two celebrations, all gifts to each other on Christmas Eve, and Santa's presents on Christmas Day. My husband's family has always done it that way, and it has become our tradition too.
I grew up with being able to open one gift the night before, saving the rest for the main event. I was always disappointed that the one preview gift was PJs every single time. I thought it was just plain old bad luck that I always picked the one gift that was not fun at all, when there was a sparkling pile of things waiting under the tree for me.
Of course, now I know that Mom planned it that way, so that I'd have new jammies on for Christmas morning when I woke her up at the crack of dawn. But at the time, I was crushed that once again, I got pajamas, not a Barbie on Christmas Eve.
Now, I am pulling my own version of the jammie trick, and let the girls each have one gift to open after dinner, before bath time and the rest of the gifts. Yep, they each had a new pair of matching PJ's as their sneak peek gift just like I did when I was a kid.
We had a third holiday bash on the day after Christmas, with the rest of the family (at least the ones in this part of the world) over for dinner, and all 26 of us fit into the new kitchen.
The house seems really quiet now with everyone gone. I've kind of gone into hibernation, with a good book and a box of kleenex (I caught Sugarwing's cold). I've not even checked out the post holiday sales yet, and don't know if I will. Although I keep thinking about all that clearance price Russell Stover chocolate…. out there, just waiting for me, all marshmallowey on the inside and shaped like chocolate Christmas trees.
But I'm kind of enjoying being snuggled up with a book and staying home in my jammies. I think I'll pass on the sales and go have another slice of that white chocolate peppermint cheesecake that I made instead. By the time I leave the house, the only thing that will fit me will be my elastic waist jammies.
If you are into holiday sale prices and don't want to leave your comfy home either, I have a sale in my Boutique and now on Etsy too. And yes, it covers tutorials, millinery, charlottes, and all of the other vintage goodness in my shops.
Everything is 30% off in the Boutique if you use THIS LINK.
And the small print says: The only catch is, that I won't be doing any mailing for a few days. You might not recieve your box till after New Years.
And if you click on the website directly, you can't get the sale price, its only available from THIS LINK
When you fill your shopping cart, you need to type in the words- happyholidays – then hit "recalculate" to get the special price. Its simple to do.
For Etsy, use the same code word- happyholidays -to get 30% off there too.
And by the way, a Very Happy Holidays to you all!
We had a Fairy Merry Christmas, and I hope that you did too. On the Day Before the Night Before Christmas (the title of one of our favorite songs around here), we had the girls here for a sleep over.
They decorated bottle brush trees in the studio, then decided to fix up the Gingerbread house for the fairies that live on our Fairy Berry Trail through the woods.
It got a whole new set of furniture, made of graham crackers.
After the painting/gluing in the studio and the icing/sprinkle excitement in the kitchen, we decided a bubble bath was in order. I poured them all (plastic) flutes of sparkling juice and filled the tub with Sugar Plum Fairy bath salts.
Calliope said that she felt like a princess. That gave us the idea to surprise them all with a princess party after their soak. The Hippy Chick ran upstairs and found some dress up clothes that were appropriately royal and had them laid out for the girls to slip into when they were done bubbling.
Of course, our girls lean toward the fairy side of "fairy princess".
Our tiniest sprite got to play a little dress up, but fell asleep before the other festivities began.
It was girl's night at the hot chocolate party.
One of the fun parts of the party is mixing your cocoa just the way you like it. We serve warm milk in teapots, and pass around Giradelli chocolate, mini marshmallows, shaved white chocolate with peppermint, candy canes, and for the moms, some Kaluha.
It was special. I'm lucky to have all these little girls to play dress up with. They are pretty sweet.
and now for the winner of my Christmas Secret Surprise Giveaway! Its a hand painted and decorated box with a nesting, ephemera covered bird on it. Pretty for the holidays, but not so Christmassy that you can't leave it out all winter. I'll fill it with some home made bath salts and send it to…..
Deborah Woodrow
And remember, if you have Christmas gift cash to buy yourself a gift, come on by the Boutique. Everything is 30% off if you use THIS LINK.
And the small print says: The only catch is, that I won't be doing any mailing for a few days. You might not recieve your box till after New Years.
And if you click on the website directly, you can't get the sale price, its only available from THIS LINK
When you fill your shopping cart, you need to type in the words- happyholidays – then hit "recalculate" to get the special price. Its simple to do.
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas! I hope your holiday is filled with lots of singing, dancing, and joy!
And big hugs from someone you love.
(Info about the secret Santa gift drawing and the 30% off sale in the Boutique can be found in the previous post, if you scroll down, but that is enough "business" for now. I'm off to get in on some of those hugs!)