A Blessings Angel fund raiser for Florida’s hurricane victims.

fairies, sea shell fairies, Travel

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My trip to Florida was short but so,so, very nice.  We were in Siesta Key, our favorite city and were relieved to see so little sign of damage from the storm.  
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Many places weren’t so lucky.  To help out, (in a small way, but every bit helps, right?) I decided to craft one of my sea shell fairies into this spectacular shell that I bought.  Oh my, it’s so pretty!  I had thought about using a shadow box, but when I saw this, I knew it would be the ideal home for my little Blessings Angel.

6D513334-B685-48B2-A1DE-61ACF3A77F43Here she is in her iridescent shell at the beach.  

While still in Florida, I posted about her on FB.  I am asking for bids to raise money for the official disaster relief fund set up by the state.

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If you are interested in making an offer, please contact me at:

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

I will announce the person with the highest donation Tuesday evening, send their donation to

https://www.volunteerflorida.org/donatefdf/

and mail the Angel to them.

 

 

The Beauty at Bridgerton

friends, Lori's Class, Travel, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

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I am home from a varied and jam packed full of fun trip.

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And speaking of jam packed- you should have seen my luggage!

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I started my journey flying to Asheville, then hiking with my baby boy, then off to Charleston in a rental car  for Jenn Hayslip’s Bridgerton event.  I had one bag filled with kits to teach a class.

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Plus my normal supplies to take my pal, Lori Oles’ class, as well as a selection of items to sell, and even more supplies for projects to work on at the beach.

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Siesta Key was the final flight of my trip, off to see my sissies.
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My two, overly stuffed, giant pieces of luggage and equally bulging carryon had to include warm clothes for the mountains, dress up things for the art event, and beachy outfits. Along with kits, supplies, wares for the market, and little gifties.

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All I can say is thank goodness that suitcases have wheels.  Even if they don’t like thresholds and rolling onto elevators , those wheels made the juggling of all those bags possible.
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Still, even with all that packing, I screwed up.  I didn’t pack proper attire for the big party.  I brought a dress, but it wasn’t fancy enough.  So, the kind hostess, who also has multiple, amazing, to die for closets full of gorgeousness, had me try on her clothing until we found something that could work on a grandma attending a ball.  

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Jenn’s wardrobe is suitable for being the bell of the ball every day of her life and it was a joy to be invited to play in those closets!  Here is what she wore.  And the dress she loaned to Lori.  Neither one of us packed right.

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Everyone else brought their finest gowns!  Oh my, the dresses were lovely.

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Looked at this beauty! Wow!

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Jenn’s adorable husband got it right and was a great sport while looking cute as can be.

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Jennifer does not miss one detail when it comes to making every aspect of her events perfect.

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So I felt bad about letting her down with my lack of fabulousness.

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But that kind hearted lady was gracious and generous about finding a fix for my attire.

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I felt very pampered instead of embarrassed by the way she handled my faux pas.

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Everything about being in this luxurious home was pampering. 
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And beautiful.

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Simply, delightfully, beautiful.

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I could’ve just wandered around and gawked all day, the home was that pretty.  Lori and I wanted to play a drinking game, where every time we heard someone say the word PRETTY, we would take a shot.  But, since I am a very bad drinker and have never done a shot in my life, I’d have lost quickly.  I’m more of a wine sipper.

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Every city that I visited and all the people I saw, made for such a lovely adventure.  I’ll leave you more pictures of Jenn’s perfectly detailed and pretty, pretty, pretty party for now, and will have more about the rest of my travels later.

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Cheers!

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More hearts

Hearts, Ryan

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We all need someone to lean on sometime, don’t we?  Ryan was my rock, and I used to lean on him a lot.  These hugging, rock hearts made me think of how he used to be that for me.

I mentioned in my last post that the puppy sitting job was good for my soul.  Besides the wreck and worries about the horrendous hurricane, I have been missing my boy so much lately.  

I always do.

 He is there in my heart at all times.  Some weeks, grief is just a low key, background noise.  Other times, it’s an all encompassing heartache, and others, a sweet little smile to myself over a memory or a moment I know he would have enjoyed.  

Lately, his loss has been heavy.  I try to pick out reasons why this happens, like waking up in the morning and piecing together what that weird dream I’d just had was about.

The stirred up grief can be from so many elements.  I think they are now called triggers, but I dislike that term.  It sounds harsh and scary.  

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After feeling extra bereft, I decided to take a walk on his favorite trail, which I had been avoiding for months. As I turned the corner around the pond, I remembered why I never go that way.  There is a wet area that never dries, even in a drought, that section of the path remains slimy and slippery.  Ryan always took my elbow as we crossed there.  Now, I know I am getting older, but I’m not a frail little old lady and I used to tell him I didn’t need any help.  He responded the same way each time- “You are my mom, and I love you.”

As I stepped across the mossy slime this day, without Ryan by my side, (and sobbing because he wasn’t) Sugar spotted a goose and lunged for it, pulling the leash and pulling me behind her as I hydroplaned through the gucky spot.

It was surprising that I didn’t fall and get yet another concussion.  And as I was thinking how lucky I was I looked out at the pond and saw many floating hearts made of clumps of algae.

Maybe Ryan had still been protecting me after all.  And left a sign that said he loved me.

 

 

 

 

Puppy Sitting was just what I needed

dogs

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Before I went on my many legged trip, I had a little baby sitting gig.

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A friend was called out of town and needed a puppy wrangler.

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Since I have such an ideal set up for a back yard dog nursery, I offered to watch them.

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Tending to little ones was just what I needed! I miss having little doodles around and these 7, little (big)  Great Pyrenees help fill that gap in my heart since it has been too long since we’ve had pups of our own.

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It had been a particularly rough week, after watching the devastation in Florida and worrying about people and places I love there.

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Also, the day these guys arrived, I was in a terrible wreck. I was not injured, my car is pretty jacked up, but the event itself was devastating.  A 16 yr old boy on a dirt bike, was speeding through an intersection, whipped illegally around a car in a round about and slammed into my car.  He was taken in an ambulance, but was up and walking before he left.  I have no idea how he is and it haunts me to think of him.

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It only takes a second for a life to change.  Sugarwings and I were together, and were happily planning a Hocus Pocus watch party, when out of the blue, our car was hit. Seeing this child on the ground after the collision was just awful and such a contrast to our laughter from a moment before.

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I was extremely proud of my grand fairy and the calm way they called my husband, talked to the police, and to other witnesses while I help tend the injured motorcycle driver.

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You can see why I was so ready for the uplifting puppy snuggles.

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Too bad I can’t fill my bag with pups to take with me to Florida because they could use some puppy hugs there too.

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I debated whether or not I should even follow through with my plans.  Vacationing in an area that just missed being wiped out by a hurricane like the surrounding areas felt wrong.  On the other hand, I know that tourism dollars are important there. And Siesta Key is up and running, ready for guests, we won’t be in anyones’ way.

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The pups left the day before my flight, and I am very glad I had the trip to distract me from their loss.

A new career in junking for a surprise helper

antiques/junking, Good JuJu

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This week is First Fridays at the West Bottoms and Good Juju will be open for business.

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I’m afraid I will be missing it!

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But my stuff won’t.  It is all set up for action, I took care of that before I flew off on my multi legged adventure.

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First leg is North Carolina to see my grown up, baby boy.

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Second is South Carolina to participate in Jenn Hayslip’s fabulous Bridgerton event.

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And the third leg (because it’s spooky season and time for three legged monster type critters, and this is a monster of a trip) I’ll be jetting down to Siesta Key to be with my sissies for part of the annual Sister Trip.  They have two weeks, which I just couldn’t do, but I managed to squeeze in a few days at the end of my journey.  
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When I get back to Kansas, it will be time to pack up my Halloween leftovers and start setting up the November show.  Which I look forward to being a part of, it’s always such a fun time there.

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Who is watching the store while I am away?  Well, I’ll have my buds, Beth and Angie there for most of the time, but Beth has some obligations.  While she is out, I have an all star replacement lined up.

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Rich!

Yep, my husband is being extra supportive and covering my shift for me.  He might be a bit overwhelmed and in over his head, but he is willing to go for it.

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If you are around, please check on him for me.

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He will be feeling like a fish out of water.  But I have faith in his skills.  If he could run dozens of golf courses in his past life, I’m sure he can sell some beat up, old junk and crappy crafts.  
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I will miss being there myself, but it will be in good hands.

More mini makeovers

antiques/junking, redos

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My garage sale days have provided soooo many redos lately.  These mini pumpkins and gourds got a coat of glitter and paint.

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They started out gray.  And free.  I’ll take free, ugly gourds any day.  The jewelry stand was $1 and also on the ugly side.
 Or just tacky?

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Ta dah!  A quick makeover, because paint is just plain magic, isn’t it?

I thought of adding a layer of decopauged lace onto the torso, but then worried that it could snag any jewelry hung on the piece.  So, I’ll leave it as is and am happy with the look.

Dolly do-overs

friends, redos

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The Halloween witches and zombies that I showed you previously started out with a bag of old dolls.  I sorted them into categories-

  • beyond repair became zombies
  • sorta bad shape, witches (if the skin was messed up, I repainted them green like Elphaba)
  • decent shape, but needed work, angels

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It is not even Halloween yet, but I zipped through my ghoulish gals in time to take into Good Juju’s September and October sales am now sparkling up some angelic babies for the November First Friday.

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This one is actually a tree topper from the 60s.  Her base is a cone to fit on a Christmas tree.  I reused her wings on the smaller girl and made new ones for her from curled feathers.  Both had their hair replaced with wool roving.

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My pal Tami invited us over for a craft day and offered styrofoam pumpkins to make over (mine is covered in lace) and tart tin dolls for the projects. I also whipped up my two angels and a few lil schroomies.

She went to a lot of trouble with her sleepy eyed doll.  It required sawing it in half, and gluing in a cork that was also cut in half to the doll could be put back together with the tin in the center.  

The tin makes a cute skirt top, doesn’t it?  Thanks, Tami, for the fun day filled with lovely projects!

My year of embracing orange and a redo-rescue

antiques/junking, cottage, holiday decor, redos

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For the first autumn of my adult life, I’ve been drawn to fall colors.  It kind of coincides with my attraction to the mix of warm woods that I’ve now blended in my house along with the existing whites and creams.

 For decades if was just the whites.  But I sure am enjoying the wood textures we have added.  Also the dark leather chairs by the stone hearth.
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Did it start with this dining table?  Maybe.  I’ve added quite a few touches of wood around our house since.

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The hutch is painted white, but has a natural top.  This has been my new, go to move.  There are a few pieces with this paint on the bottom, wood stain on the top look in the last few years.

But orange?  That is brand new for me.  And I like the pops of brightness that color brings to the season.

For a while now, I have loved red accents on a white background at Christmas.  Having a neutral background means  that I can switch things up lot lot with just a few changes of color splashed around the room.

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This over blown monstrosity was at a garage sale for one dollar, and typically, I’d have walked right by it.  Or paused to wonder how the basket would look spray painted white (probably very nice, filled with roses).

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It is actually a very nice shape and looked good with a pot of mums as is.

Instead, I decided to accept the orange and see what I could do with it.

It had a lot of big, velvet pumpkins inside, two I added to the urns in the top pic.  The rest I set aside along with about 50% of the crazy, over the top amount amount of leaves and berries and bows.

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The abundance was pared down to a more reasonable amount in the basket, and I still have a lifetime supply of leaf and berry picks to use for something else.  

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So that makes three more palatable arrangements and a leftover bag of supplies for $1, plus the 50 cents each I paid for the urns at the same garage sale.  
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Plus, plenty of stems leftover to fill this caldron (also from a garage sale).

All filled with my new enjoyment of autumn tones.  I won’t be changing over my entire decor to pumpkin colors, but I am liking the hints and peeks of them I have scattered around.

 

 

Under a magic spell

Good JuJu, holiday decor, Romantic Gothic Ghosts, vintage paper/collage art

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I really, really, really loved making things for Good Juju for Halloween!

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I have collages, dolls, witchy hats, jewelry, mushrooms, ballerina bats (yes, that’s right, ballerina bat skeletons),  signs, painted pumpkins, and my possibly fave- magic potion bottles.

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For years, I have been tossing any vintage items I find that seem fitting for this season, into a drawer.  It was quite full of tempting treats to turn into my fun creations.

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I found it so inspiring to have an eclectic mix of ephemera and goodies to dig through.

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No two came out the same, since I was working with so many originals bits of vintagey goodness.  I had some photos that I’d copied, but the rest is all aged.

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While I was at it, I whipped up a few hand made pumpkins too.

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Here are some used as bottle toppers.

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I went overboard.

A bit.  

As I do.

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There is probably enough inventory for next year too.  I should add some to my online shop, but I will be teaching at Jenn’s fantastic event in Charleston mid October, so might not have time to get any listed in time for Halloween. 
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Now it is time to halt my spooky endeavors and switch to Christmas.

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Which isn’t a problem, I adore creating sparkling pretties for that holiday too.  
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It is hard to put away all of the supplies for October, and to stop myself from making way, way, too much of this stuff.  I’ve been on a roll.

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Knowing me, I will be every bit as much obsessed with  as happy to  make things for the next holiday. 
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I’ve been saving up Christmas ephemera and supplies too.  I have a feeling that crafting with those is  going to be taking over my life soon.

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I’m excited just thinking about it!

2D03CF26-A221-4AAF-B5C0-7152C698A972And it is extra nice to have a reason to make things, after quarantine and Ryan’s death.  I hadn’t had much inclination to create in volume like this.

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Hidden Hearts

dogs, family, Hearts, Ryan

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I have always enjoyed finding shapes in nature.  Especially hearts.  Or fairy wings.  
Typically, I take a photo of the heart and leave it, but some I pocket, like this one from the dog park.  
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They have taken on even more meaning since we lost Ry.  He used to be enthusiastic about the ones I’d see when out on our walks together.  I can hear his voice every time I find one now.

 “That’s so cool, Mom!”

So this broken heart really stood out and caught my eye. It shows how I’ve felt since Ryan left.  Still holding it together, but forever broken.

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And lookee here at this one!  On Molly’s hip.  She’d had an ouchie and as it healed, the hair grew back as more golden retriever hair than poodle/doodle hair.  And a darker color too. 

“That’s so cool!”

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