Karla's Cottage – Page 68 – by Karla Nathan

Holiday Happenings

By Karla Nathan / December 19, 2019

I never turn down a Christmas invitation and look for as many holiday adventures to cram into December as I can.

Meeting up with friends for lunch and going shopping? Yes, please!

Especially a visit to Angie’s. She lives within walking distance of the museum, where we ate at the courtyard cafe, the made me feel as tho I was dining in Europe.

(I fell in love with that dyed wreath! And have plans to try to dye some of my dried hydrangeas aqua…)

We peeked around the museum and soaked up a smidgeon of culture before heading out to shop.

The displays at J’Dore were inspiring. We hit a thrift store too.

But the best part? Just chatting and catching up over sparkly wine and chocolates at Angie’s pretty apartment in the sky.

The grand fairies and I had a night out to see a Magical Cirque Christmas. It reminded me more of an old school variety show than a typical Cirque extravaganza. The teens thought it was new and different, having not grown up in the age of Ed Sullivan.

Sugarwings loved the corny magician, and while we had a late night for a Tuesday, it was worth all of the sleepy yawns on Wednesday morning.

She and I also attended Matilda at the local theater. There is a kid friendly play there every year at the holidays and we have a happy tradition of going.

Tonight is the last, big bash of the year, a party for her Martial Arts group, with dinner and dancing at the Doubletree. Last year we danced so hard, Sugarwings’ shoes fell apart.

Well, I guess I mean the last outside function, we will be rocking around the Christmas tree with Dewdrop soon!

She will be back in Kansas for Christmas break. I am thrilled to be having our tiniest family member with us again.

I have been on pins and needles with the transportation plans, they have been iffy, but seem straightened out now.

We will be having cocoa parties in front of the tree, dancing North Pole Style together (to a kid’s musical dance party toy that most of the family finds annoying, but that we love), and making gingerbread men together.

Because there can always be a party waiting to happen if you just look for it.

The last Sugarplum fairies of the decade, a look back at the year, and a giveaway

fairies, family, give away, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / December 18, 2019

Oh my, that is true, we are not just near the end of the year, it is the end of a decade!

My year is ending with a blast, I have loved hunkering down in the studio and making Sugarplum Fairy after fairy after fairy.

And I am thankful for all of the people who bought them for me so that I could indulge in my love of crafting these gals.

It has been a mixed year for me. Lots of wonderful moments and people, lots of injury and heartache and worry.

It is odd that a year can be soooo good, but yet so bad at the same time.

Teaching at Karen's Cozy Castle, and at Jenn Hayslip's retreat, seeing family members from far away, and having a studio full of Peeps come to see me a couple of times this year made up for a lot of the problems I have had.

It is hard to be too down about a minor skull fracture, multiple concussions, and other aches and pains when I have so many positives in my life too.

The break up of my son's family and the draining work of getting their house on the market was heart wrenching. But having little Dewdrop come back for Christmas eases that pain. And while my son and his littlest girl now live across the country, I am adjusting. And still have the other 3 grand fairies with me. We are trying to get back to family dinners with the group, and while it is a change to not have two of our people, there is still a lot of love on those nights.

And seriously, how lucky and blessed were we to have an uptick in the local real estate market just as we finished the remodelling of the house we had bought for my son's family and to get out from under that mortgage in less than a week? We worked our asses off to make it happen for weeks, but yes, it did work out.

We could have been stuck with an empty house to take care of and keep up all winter.

My husband's early retirement also threw me for a loop. But we are adjusting and he is the happiest he has ever been in his life.

Life is all about changes and how you deal with them. Honestly, I did NOT deal well with having to do so much to that house to get it sold, and with the family splitting up.

Did I mention that my husband unexpectedly retired that week and that I also had my hormones cut in half at the same time? But I got through it, and did what was needed to make things work.

(I have since found out that my rotator cuff was torn and my bicep tendon was ruptured at the time, so that makes me feel better now about being so whiny while painting ceilings then! I am now in PT for those injuries.)

I have had beautiful trips with people I love (even though I came home with a concussion twice).

I have had dozens of fun and caring Peeps here at the cottage.

I have had a nest full of puppies to cheer me up with snuggles at the end of a long day of repainting a house we were afraid we were stuck with, but were not.

I had the joy of running through the waves with Sugarwings, splashing through Disney in the rain and laughing with all four girls, making seashell fairies on 4 beaches to leave as thank yous for the beauty of the trip.

I have had people let me down, but others show so much caring that I could get past the hurt of the let downs.

And I have had the joy of making all of these Sugarplum fairies. What a happy way to end the year. I was so thrilled to see that they sold so quickly, and while this is kind of late to be adding more to the Boutique, I had a lot of happiness go into making each and every one whether they sell or not.

2019 has been eventful.

These fairies might seem like a silly little thing to be so emotional about, but a lot of healing went into the creation of them.

I would like to share the cheer. Please leave a comment if you want to be entered to win a fairy of your own.

(You can also enter on FB and IG)

Beach babes at Siesta Key

family, Travel

By Karla Nathan / December 15, 2019

On my annual Sister Trip to Florida, we were joined by all but one of both of my sister’s kids, thanks to Sissy’s generosity.

Sissy also brought everyone bags from Gudren, and wanted a photo of us together holding the colorful bags.

So we decided to go all super model, and pose with scarfs blowing in the breeze as we leapt into the air.

Uhm, we are not super models.

But we know how to have fun.

Maybe Sissy is model material. I love this photo that I took of her.

And this one. I channeled my inner Tyra Banks and told her to find the light.

We always try to use the ocean backdrop to get some good sister pics each year.

And this time, we were able to get more family shots.

And I got to spend time with people I rarely see.

I love having all the silly photos as souvenirs of the trip.

And the fun pictures.

As well as our traditional, casual, sister pics.

There was even a pretty, great niece there to snap photos of.

There were gorgeous skies to use as backdrops.

Although it can be hard to focus on faces without the light blowing out behind them.

Sometimes the faces are shadowed if I get the water or sky correct.

Mostly, we are just so happy to be together, we constantly have our cameras out to capture the short time we have with each other.

Because we know that, in a blink it is over.

Sugarplum Fairies

fairies, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage

By Karla Nathan / December 12, 2019

I had such a nice day at my friend, Tami's house.

She generously invites a group of us for craft parties and supplies lots of fun things to make.

While I was tempted by her table of goodies and the projects she had prepared, I had "homework" to do.

I wanted to finish up another flock of fairies to add to the Boutique.

So I brought my own items to work on, and managed to get about 10 fairies done that day between chatting, visiting with friends, and visiting the kitchen for magnificent, tasty treats.

I am blessed with good friends, the ladies from this group are Birdsong Peeps that are somewhat local, and who try to get together on a regular basis.

Thank you, Tami, for arranging these dates to enjoy our friends!

And thank you to everyone who has bought Sugarplum fairies from me this holiday season, so I could indulge myself in making so many of them!

I am rather fond of these little darlings!

If you would like one, they are $12 and you can find them in the Boutique.

Transforming a snow globe

holiday decor

By Karla Nathan / December 9, 2019

Last summer, I found a boxful of ugly snow globes at an estate sale. I had big plans to remake them, but ended up setting them out for sale at A Snowbird's Song.

Apparently, no one wanted them… So I decided I needed to reclaim them for my original purpose. Some are easier to open than others, this one was pretty easy to get apart.

The snowman was exchanged for a little pink angel, and I made an arch from wired tinsel and millinery blooms and placed it over the vintage tree behind her. Then, poured on tons and tons and generous glops of glue.

The glue was camouflaged with mica flakes.

The wooden base got a coat of distressed white paint, some crepe paper and sparkly bits.

I am kinda glad no one else bought this $1 item, and I look forward to redoing the others that were not purchased.

Seashell Gnomes and Angels at Siesta Key

sea shell fairies, Travel

By Karla Nathan / December 7, 2019

In honor of the holidays, I made some gnomes and angels instead of fairies.

I was inspired by these broken shells that already looked like toadstools.

The tiny red noses were a lucky find by my nephew, who found a sprig of them washed up on the shore.

Nieces also helped gather shells for me. Shelli saw this “jawbone” and we crafted a Dino as a group project.

See the inspiration?

I think my little gnomes look like they are having a happy, little dance party. They must love Siesta Key as much as I do.

A tree filled with Sugarplum fairies

fairies, holiday decor, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / December 4, 2019

I have been having waaayyyy too much fun!

These are addictive, I order making them.

There are so many ways to create them, and I find it hard to stop.

If you would like one, they are available in the Boutique.

Aren't they sweet?

They range in price from $9- $16 depending on size, materials. and time put into them.

They are all done from prints of vintage photos, hand tinted and embellished with as many foofy, vintagey goodies I could put on them.

They have been a delight to work on, even though the heat has been out in the studio. I've had a space heater blasting on my toes, but these sweeties have taken my mind off of the cold room.

I find them "heart warming".

Five Swans A Swimming

bird song art event

By Karla Nathan / December 1, 2019

Lesa Dailey’s class project at a Snowbird’s Song was a feat of engineering, and an object of beauty. I was thrilled when she gave the original to me!

Especially since she had already given me this sweet snowgal riding a swan. It was way too generous of her. I will treasure them, as I do anything she has made.

The tags she used on the packaging were equally adorable. I thought about putting mine onto my tree, but instead, I am using it here with my newfound, swan collection.

The teachers at my arty weekends gift a kit to each other. We don’t always get to craft them during the event, personally, I try to save mine to savor later when I have more time.

And it makes me feel better when I am missing my Peeps!

Since I was lucky enough to have the original, I wanted to make my kit in a different way, not try to match it. Instead of adding the darling swan boat hat, I used the sail material to make a crown.

I changed the beak to pink, and used faceted beads for the eyes. I also tilted the neck and head, but maybe she just looks crooked…

I made the ruffle into a double layer, added lace, strands of pearls, and millinery blooms. Then, I glued her to a candlestick for height.

Of course, I HAD to use to wonderful, white ruffle she provided. But I kept the rest of the back simple, since I loved the soft, blue velvet and wanted that to show.

Thank you, Lesa! We love your classes here at the cottage, not only for the challenging way they stretch our skills, but for the pure loveliness you create and the personality you infuse in each of your characters.

If you are interested in some of the items from A Snowbird's Song, I have listed a few of the pieces in my Boutique. There are kits for Angelique the Aviary Queen as well as the completed projects.

The kits come with a collage sheet, so you can make the angel with your preferred lady. That leaves you with a page filled with other images to use for other crafting plans. Pink and white are available. There are some holiday ornaments for sale too. And thank you to those who have already shopped with me!

You can find them here.

New in the Boutique, Christmas pretties!!

fairies, holiday decor, the Boutique at Karla's Cottage, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / November 29, 2019

I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving? Mine was quiet, but that was nice, I had time to create, photograph a variety of Christmassy goodies, and get things listed in the Boutique!

(I do have kits from the birdcage angel available. Please contact me if interested, they are not in the Boutique yet)

I am pretty proud of myself, even though I am bordering on being too late for holiday sales.

Most of the creations are examples for A Snowbird Song.

Class samples, as well as ideas for using the supply table to make things during free time.

I also made some collages and ornies using the images from the collage sheets for the classes.

Those images were so lovely, I was happy to have a few pages of them to work with.

Not everything is adorned with a hand made Sugarplum Fairy or an angel, tho.

There are a few other ornies too.

And yet to come? Sugarplum Fairy Banners, always a favorite of mine.

There is more to list, and I hope to get to it soon. I've had a ton of fun making things. You can find these festive, holiday creations here:

CHRISTMAS IN THE BOUTIQUE

Happy Thanksgiving

celebrations, Dew Drop, family

By Karla Nathan / November 27, 2019

As years pass and circumstances change, so do family holidays. I did not expect to have a big Thanksgiving dinner this year, but was happily surprised when we could get everyone together the Sunday before.

After getting back late Friday night from my Florida Sister Trip, I woke up to Dewdrop and her dad here for visit.

We celebrated with a breakfast cocoa party in front of a Christmas program. Then started whipping up and prepping for a family dinner on Sunday.

We only had a few days with her, so got as much squeezed into that time as we could. We weren’t together on her birthday, so took a trip to Target for her to choose a gift.

We snuck in as many cuddles as we could, went to see Frozen 2, had a couple of dance parties, and crafted. The poor kid got sick while here, so much of the time she was napping and watching movies.

They are headed back east today, and it might be a while til I see her again. I feel thankful that she was here, no matter how long.

At the airport Friday night, this tree was available to add a leaf with your thankful messages to it. I wrote one that said, “people I love”

And I wasn’t surprised to find that many of the leaves expressed similar sentiments. Family was repeated many times. I hope that all of those travelers writing about their family were on their way to see them and be together.

Thanksgiving Day itself will be a quiet one this year for us, but the date on the calendar isn’t what counts. I am lucky I had a family day, and some time with my little one.

I will take that any day of the year.