Karla's Cottage

Cocoa Beach

We had the best trip!  I wish we had the whole family there, missing them was the only bad part of the week. The rest was just plain delightful.

The Guncles even drove down from Jacksonville to visit.

We were celebrating the Hippy Chick's graduation from nursing school, and the guys joined us for dinner on the pier in Cocoa Beach.

Guncle Randy surprised Sugarwings with a pink rose, which in her mind, instantly turned her into a fairy tale princess, and she had to go lay down on the floor with it on her chest, awaiting her prince to bring true love's kiss to wake her up.  This reaction is pretty common with her, for many items.  When biting into a carmel apple at Disney World, she collapsed in a dramatic swoon.

I'd never stayed at Cocoa Beach before.  We chose to be there a few days before our Disney adventure since it was so nearby. And we were very happy with that choice, good restaurants, nice beaches, affordable hotel, and lots of big cruise ships to watch as they left Port Canaveral.

This little one grinned most of the trip.

And played nonstop.

Till one point where she just fell sound asleep right in the sand, and couldn't go on another moment.  I don't think I'd ever seen her this worn out.  She is quite the whirlwind of a kid.

But even the most energy packed person in the world can be done in by fun in the sun!

 

And boy, was there a LOT of fun.

 

 

Hiding instead of repairing damaged dry wall and a rosey outlook for springtime

A bit ago, we redid a wall in the living room with ceiling tin. These were 8' strips, and were ideal for where I needed them, they seem to look nicer on a wall than the squares would have.

And after purchasing them, I happened to find the border at another shop and it is exactly what I needed! I'd planned on using wood trim and this is so much better. How lucky to find just the right amount of border.

The wall panels are from Nook and Cranny.  When I drove around to the back of the shop to load the pieces, I happened to see the tin crown molding on the sidewalk in front of another store in the West Bottoms.  I bought all the border, but there is a truckload of the wall panels left. ($40 each, but ask for a volume discount if you buy more than a couple)

The room didn't look bad before, I liked the faux finish.  Until you got up close.

My old house settles, and the shape of a doorway kept popping through the drywall. Years ago, during a remodel, we'd covered up a hallway and this door shape would NOT go away no matter how many times I'd patched it.

I don't mind cracks, old houses have lots of them. But not door shaped!

(and yes, you are seeing nasty cobwebs in this photo, not just faux paint treatments and cracks in the wall)

SInce I have tins on the kitchen ceiling, I thought it would look good to also have the wall at the far end of the living room covered in them too. (this is before)

Luckily, I have a very handy son, who installed them for me.  He ripped off the baseboard, and I squirted a ton of caulking back under the wall to help with drafts before he put up the tin.

We decided not to put up more baseboard over it, I like the look as it ended up without it.

The panels plus the crown were just the right size for the wall!  My son wanted to cut the tins and line them up perfectly, but I told him not to. It went against his nature as a carpenter to not have the lines on the tin exact, but I like it as it is. 

(the purple marks show the door outline we were covering up)

I promised him I would tell everyone that, because the lines bother him.  Not me, I'm soooo happy with the whole project!! He had them up in a couple hours.

The lines that might bother me are the ones between each panel.  They need to be caulked and sealed so they aren't as prominent. 

But I haven't made up my mind about painting yet.  I did paint over the rust on the crown, but only because it was too regular and stripey looking.  Random rust makes me happy, but this was not that kind.

For now, I  figure I'll leave the chippiness as is, I can always paint later.  But I do think I need to caulk the seams....

The dogs always think each photo is about them.

So, I indulged the little hams and let them pose.

They love to be in pictures.

For springtime, I hung some rose pattern bark cloth drapes and wrapped the sofa cushion in another bark cloth piece.  It has come untucked on the edges a  bit. I guess that is the sort of thing you should straighten before a photo, huh?

My living room stays cream and white most of the year, and I love that combo, it makes seasonal changes so simple.  A few pillows, a couple curtain panels and a switcheroo of some knick knacks and I've got a new look for a new season.

And the dogs love the BARK cloth.

 

Bird collage pendants

I did it! Not only did I finally figure out what my second class was going to be for Birdsong, I got lots of samples made and packed every single kit up and have them tucked away ready to go when my peeps arrive!

Beth, Mary, and Karla came over on Tuesday to participate in a practice class, here are a couple of their pieces.  The book they are lying on is filled with little bird images and was published in the 1800s.  I've used these old birdies in the kits, so of course, no two will be alike.  In case someone gets a bird they don't care for, there are plenty of extras to chose from so the artist can find just the right little creature to put on her collage.

This is the actual pendant we will be working on, it's a large one, so we have space to play with the collage.

Now, I just need to get the bird cage kits packed up for my other class.  All of the elements are prepped and ready, I just need to get them wrapped up.

If you would like to make a bird cage/wire cloche, I have spent weeks working out the best way to make them and have made a tutorial with step by step illustrated instructions, along with downloadable images to make fairies to keep in the cages once you get them made.

I've come up with a way to make the cages that I've not seen anywhere else. My son helped me come up with some great ideas that simplifies the process and keeps the wires from springing out every which way and driving you crazy.

He really deserves a lot of the credit, the boy is great with wire, and is a talented jewelry maker.  This bracelet that we collaborated on will be featured in Jewelry Affaire.  I'm thrilled to be doing an article with my son!

And greatly appreciate his input on the birdcage problems I was having. 

 

It's always good to be home!

It's great to be home from my trip! I always miss my family when I am away, no matter how much fun I am having.

I'll have some photos of my time in fairy tale land as soon as I get them edited.  Tomorrow is my 55th birthday, so I doubt if I'll get to them for a couple of days. I'd like to think that I'll be too busy celebrating... hint, hint, family!!!

These pics are a few of my favorite bright spots from this long, never ending cold spring that had a hard time sprunging itself out of winter. 

Along with this video of my son explaining a little bit about companion planting out in the Nathan Family Fairy Food Forest:

 

 

 

Waiting for Spring

Hope you had a happy May Day! It's one of my favorite days of the year.  As a kid, it meant it was almost my birthday.  So, that is always nice, but it also means SPRING! At least it should, but this year, I don't know if Spring will ever get here.

Before going out of town, my husband and I had nice day out at the Topeka Zoo with Sugarwing's class. It was soooo chilly, we had to bundle up in lots of layers. I thought I'd be peeling off layers throughout the day, but instead, I was wishing I'd piled on a few more. 

We also made a trip out to the country to pick up some new ladies to join the Coop Group.

We aren't sure what kind of hens they are, only that they produce a pink, a brown and a blue egg.  And that they are very pretty chickens. 

Yes, I did say PINK!!!!!!!!

One of those new ladies is laying pink eggs. What a delightful surprise! We also picked up 6 little red hens who lay brown eggs.  It's a full coop now.

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I've been working on this wire birdcage tutorial, and now have it ready to send to you!  You can get the details here.

 

Jewelry-o-rama in front of the TV

My son and I have both been making some jewelry.  He does wire wrap and crystals, more of a new age look.  But I thought one of his amethyst crystal pieces would be perfect for me to wear to Snow White.

He does a silver wire base, adds crystals to it, puts it into a mold and pours epoxy over it all. Or something like that.

Then, he added the strip of violet suede to make a bracelet. I had some gemstone beads, in ruby, garnet, amethyst, and laborite that I made chains out of for the sides.

These beads aren't my typical colors, but I loved the stones. And the bracelet Mr. Zen created.  So, I added some of the gems to my pendant from Victorian Trading Co.

It's been jewelry-o-rama around here lately. A friend of mine and Guncle Randy's, Regina,  gave me a bag of gemstone beads and I can't stop playing with them.  Last week, I was meeting friends for a little birthday celebration at our traditional hang out.  (we do happy hour appetizers and half price wine at  a place called 715 when one of us has a special occasion)

So, I whipped up a few pair of earrings with stuff laying around on my desk to take as party favors.

Besides making jewelry, I've been puttering, getting things set for Snow White and Birdsong mostly. And watching too much tv.  What's on the DVR that I've been getting caught up on? Loads!

• The Voice- Blake and Adam are adorable
  
• The Following- thrilling
  
• The Americans- well made
  
• Game of Thrones!!! - I'm a huge fan of the books too, why can't he write faster?
  
• Shameless- Smart kids trying despite bad surroundings, and don't you think that Lip looks like a young Robert Mitchum? (oh my, that shows my age, and also makes me feel like a pervy old lady to be eying that kiddo)
  
• Girls- annoying people, but interesting writing
  
• Modern Family- best comedy on TV
  
• Once  Upon A Time- well dur, it's a fairy tale
  
• Idol and Survivor ( I'm not as enthusiastic, but can't quit them)
• I haven't gotten to Bates Motel or Hannibal yet, I heard they were good
• The Middle- Sue Heck is my hero, she never gives up
• Mad Men- John Hamm? Swoon!  I wish he'd do more comedy too.
  
• Sofia the First- Sugarwings and I love her to pieces and she looks like my little girl
• My Little Pony Friendship is Magic- Dewdrop and I end up watching this while I work at my desk and she paints at her little table so her parents can work in the garden, and I have become a fan against my will.

My list is actually much longer than this, but I'm embarrassed to  let you know just how much TV I watch.  It's pretty bad. 

I've also been reading the Walking Dead graphic novels since I am having withdrawals from the show.  Trouble is, they are eight bucks a piece on my Kindle Reader app, and the books only last an hour or so.  It looks to me like I could spend a small fortune in a day or two, so I stopped at #5.  That took some will power!

 

I've been working on this wire birdcage tutorial, and now have it ready to send to you!  You can get the details here.

At Home with the Guncles

I swear, I could wear out a camera at Randy and Kevin's house.  Cutest dogs, ever, a great collection of, well, too many things to count, and fun stuff going on all the time.

And it was very touching to me, that with all the cool collections and fabulous antiques they have, I saw bits and pieces of my own art work all around the house. This is a nest from my wire workshop

They've added some white birds for Spring to the cabinet of white pottery.

I'd love to find a top hat like this silk one they have.  It's hosting some paper clay creations I sent to them. The little elf is supposed to look like Kevin.

Hmm, kind of hard to tell from this photo.

There is a string of crystals hanging in the window of their patio room, that sends prisms all around the space every afternoon.   Here is Kevin, sprinkled in "light birdies", as my Sissy always calls them.

On Sunday, we spent the day in Randy's craft room with our pal, Regina. Over the years, he and I painted the entire room, floor and ceiling with murals, but there are so many treasures in there, not much shows!

Tad and Tillie ( Beloved Bishons of the Past) watch over us as we work there.

Regina worked on making a bird cage like the ones we had done at Karen's for the workshop at the Kozy Kottage.  Randy made cards (his specialty) and I cranked out a couple dozen birds to decorate my studio for Birdsong.

Randy also prepped the background for this painting he asked me to do.  A friend of his had a painting of a white peacock wearing pearls and he loved it, and asked me to copy it. I don't like to copy, but told him I'd do another version of it my own way. 

So, he found a swan in his wild life books and asked me to paint her.  The back ground is metallic, and the bird is regular paint. I think it really makes the swan stand out in a dramatic way.

The swan in the book had red eyes, but I went for pink.  It was a quick job, and there were some things I'd have tweaked if I had time, but I was finishing it up Monday before I went to the airport, and had to rush. Of course, at that point, I didn't know my flight was cancelled and I'd have hours to sit at the airport.

Randy is so kind about my artwork, he is my #1 collector.  Here is a watercolor of Zack that hangs in the craft room.

There is also a big screen TV in there, and he has a cabinet full of shows. I was able to get caught up on the few episodes of Downton Abby that I had missed and we watched Les Mis while working too.  Funny, when I "watch" TV while working, I rarely look up. At one point, I finally looked at the screen and was wowed, it was really a good picture.  I hadn't even noticed that it was such sharp high def.

I should ask what brand it is, I'm in the market for a new one myself.

Yep, it was a fun visit. Great food, great friends, great fun, great crafts, great TV picture (hey, that's important!) and great dogs.

Whimsy and fun at every corner. Accompanied by fresh shrimp.

And there are always big, brown eyes looking up into your face.

I'll leave you with some pictures around the house.  There is a treat every place you look there!

 

In the Guncles' Garden and some travel woes

On my trip to Florida, I didn't even make it anywhere near a beach.  As much as I love staring at the ocean, on a quick trip, I'm so happy at the Guncle's house I don't even remember that the Atlantic is nearby.

Their home and garden are so inviting, and they are so welcoming, it's a joy to be there and part of their little family.

After the cold Feb. and March we've had in KS, I was happy just to see some sunshine. While I was there, it was snowing up a blizzard back home. I thought my timing was great for the trip when I heard that.  Originally, I had planned to go home on Sunday, but there was such a huge difference in ticket prices, that I changed it to Monday to help out Karen, who was gifting me with the ticket.

And it snowed at home on Sunday, so I thought I'd made the right choice, I had a craft day with Guncle Randy and some time to hug the doggies.

But the snow caused major airline delays on Monday too.  I sat at the Jacksonville airport for hours before it was confirmed that I was not getting home that night. My cold had turned into a pounder of a sinus infection and I wanted my own bed more than anything else.

The guncles are the best hosts ever, but I needed to get home somehow and if I stayed overnight again in Jacksonville, I wouldn't be able to catch a flight till the next evening, plus the guys would have to work, so I wouldn't even see them till time to catch a ride to the airport.

Normally, I am pretty tough.  But I think, being sick for a few days away from home and trying to pretend I wasn't sick through all the social activities that were too fun to miss, had worn me down. I am embarrassed to say that I called my husband crying when I found out I was stuck at the airport.

What a big baby.

And of course, tears do NOT make a sinus problem feel any better. The pounding became a steady wallopping.

So, my husband got online and found the quickest route home, through nashville, away from the snowy places, then early the next morning, back to KS and home by 8:30 am. He arranged a hotel and shuttle for me too, and I felt much better.

Now, all that is stuff I could do myself with no trouble, but it was sweet for him to take over and take care of me.  It's sure nice to have someone who cares enough to take charge when you are down. 

And it doesn't hurt to let someone take care of you sometimes.  As moms or grammies we tend to always be the ones who take care of everyone else, don't we? 

 

Hoppy Easter

Did you have a good Easter? Ours was unexpectedly really nice.From no plans at all to a small family dinner and egg hunt in a matter of an afternoon.

Sugarwing's mom ended up switching  her plans, so we had our fairy grand child over night and all day.  Dewdrop came over with her mom at dinner time, and we were able to find buckets full of eggs on the Fairy Berry Trail as the sun was setting.

And what beautiful weather we had!  I'd thought I'd finish the banner I am working on for the Snow White blast coming up way too soon, but instead, I ran and played with Sugarwings all day and enjoyed the sunshine. 

I was able to do some yard clean up too, and foofed the Fairy Berry Trail up for the season.  Easter seems to be the time that we whip it into shape, just in time for hunting eggs the bunny left there.

Funny, how fast two little girls can find over 50 eggs.  This was a quick run through the forest, with lots of squealing along the way.  Dewdrop let out a yelp every time she spied an egg. And everything is a squealfest around Sugarwings anyway.

Luckily, I  had plenty of plastic eggs up in the closet and could find packets of tiny toys and junky fun crap to stuff in them for our impromtu hunt.

Although, the few pieces of chocolate I had on hand were the biggest hits when the eggs were open, of course. But, I do think that if there was nothing in them at all, it wouldn't have dampened the fun. 

The thrill of the hunt was the best part.

Dewdrop loved every minute of it. She is a cute age to be out in the woods gathering eggs.

She enjoyed the dying too, although it didn't last long because she thought it was just as much fun to pour the dye out on the ground as it was to dip the eggs in.  But they had plenty of glitter paints to add to the eggs once the dirt under the table was dyed.

We sat up the mini picnic table in the gazebo and I turned the kids loose with dyes and glitters.

Which was a great plan, considering that everyone had been playing outside and there was a bit of mud from the gardening project clinging to them.  Plus, Dewdrop's fascination with pouring out the dye worked better out doors than it would have inside.

I'll have more photos from the Mt. Dora trip after this little break for some Happy Easter wishes.

There is only so much time in the day, so I try to make the most of it!

There is not much new around here, I'm still wading through piles of Snow White books and items to stuff into the kits.

See what I mean?  Every table in the studio is heaped up with carefully sorted (even though it doesn't look like it) goodies to do with the kits.  I even set up two extra tables, and also filled tubs. 

But hey, there is HOPE! Look at the stack of wrapped kits on the far table, in front of the window. Yep, the packaging is almost done.  The rest of the room is just littered with the detritis of making the kits.

Those stacks of cut wallpaper on the table?  Some of those are sorted into piles, ready to photograph and add to the shop.  My son and I got just a tad carried away on those chopping and ironing days we had.

But the truth about why nothing else is happening around here, is that I am soooo hooked on the books themselves.   I've made up four examples for the class, including one that I'm am keeping for myself and personalizing with family fairy tale photos.

On this page, I've taken a page from one of the children's story books, and cut Black Beauty from it, with another page behind the horse as I cut it out so that I ended up with a second animal shape.  (it was an accident, but one that I am glad that I did!)   I added a unicorn horn to each, flipped one over, layered them on the paper, and tinted them with glitter markers.

Dewdrop adores "honies" above all things.  She is a "My Little Pony" addict, and calls them honies.   So, this page is for her.

There are other things I could be doing, but this is more fun.  Plus, I thought the students  might appreciate having samples in different stages to look through.  This one will be almost complete, but I am saving space in it to add pictures from the event itself.

There has also been some Birdsong3 behind the scenes details to tend to.  It's funny how much time such things take up, even when the event in months away.  Oh, but how worth it! I'm really excited to know that I have both of these fun weekends to look forward to.

Hopefully, once I get all of these kits boxed and ready to mail, I can concentrate on making Birdsong projects and kits.  And selling that pile of wallpaper. And doing my taxes (Beth offered to help!! Yay, there is nothing better than having an accountant buddy at tax time. And all I have to do for her is redo her antique mall booth.  Heck, that is a pleasure to do, not a hair pulling, tear inducing, fork in the eye, task like tax prep).

There are also extra kits from last year's Birdsong that I forgot about. And need to add to the Boutique. I'd planned on listing them last year and haven't yet. I also found a stack of surplus Fairy Book covers that I'd planned to sell too. 

But there is only so much time in the day.  You know what I have noticed?  I can keep going full tilt and workiing my backside off (not really, it actually seems to grow, not diminish) and never really get ahead.  Because there is always more to do, and only so much time in a day.

I've noticed that my income seems to level out, no matter what I am working on, because nothing is "extra", it ends up taking the place of something else.  So, if I do shows, I am ignoring my shop.  If I concentrate on the shops, I am not having time to make things.  And on and on.

You just can't do it all. At least not at the same time. But that is what is such fun about my so called job.

I can switch it up, go from classes, events, creating, selling, shows, one to the next.  It certainly never gets boring!  When I focus on one area, it does very well, especially the Boutique. But my life would be very dull if all I did was photograph and list and ship every day.  So, I'm glad I can stretch out and try different venues and take breaks from the online shop.  It's still there, still selling, but not as much when I'm not adding to it reguarly.

Yes, changing my focus might not be getting me ahead financially, but it sure keeps me hopping and happy!