Karla's Cottage

How to make a hand painted banner on canvas and tips on painting a rose topiary

Here is a little break from Birdsong talk!

I've spent a lot of years painting murals, I travelled around the country and painted quite a few hotels, day care centers, and even a casino, as well as people's homes.    But the scaffolding and ladders really got to me, so I moved on to other things. 

Every once in a while I'll get to do one again and always enjoy the opportunity. Especially a canvas one that I can work on in my own space and take my time on.  This one was sent to my pal, Kim, for her Tiffany's event, where I am at right now.  (I've pre-posted this)

While this isn't exactly what the front of a real Tiffany's shop looks like, it is just right for the ladies attending Kim's party! Whimsical, fun, and pretty.

Kim wanted something more light hearted than the cold stone of the original building in NY. 

So, we took a few liberties with our design. 

My painting is all free hand..  I just paint as I go.  My lines aren't perfectly straight, but I think that adds to the whimsy and suits my style.

Plus, I know that I could NEVER do straight lines, so I don't even try! But since this was so architectural, I used a level to help out with the door and window shapes.

Here is the inspiration that Kim sent to me.  I used the fanciful nature of this with the stone front of the real building, along with the colors she asked for to come up with the banner design.

Here is my basic sketch for the idea.  We decided to flip the color scheme, so more of the Tiffany Blue would show. The canvas is being used as a backdrop for a photo booth, and with people standing in the middle, not much of the door itself would show.

My first step was getting the canvas ready. I like to paint on drop cloths, but this picture was larger than most seamless dropcloths are.  I found fabric big enough to avoid seams at Darhma Trading Co.

I washed and dried mine hoping to remove the fold marks that way. MAN, WAS THAT A MISTAKE!  It came out of the dryer looking like a wadded up piece of paper.  I had to IRON the whole thing, and 13 x 8' is a lot to man handle over an ironing board.

  I'd say, iron the folds only, don't do it the way I did! 

After struggling with the ironing board till I was  steaming myself,  I laid it out on the floor to cut and pin.  After carefully measuring and cutting, I hemmed the two sides on my sewing machine, and then laid it back out on the floor to pin the rod pocket at the top. I measured and cut it in a way that let me keep the hemline at the bottom as is, no sewing.

By the way, it helps to have a second set of hands to wrangle the fabric and help feed it into the sewing machine, this was a big job and even this lightweight canvas feels weighty when you are trying to sew it due to its size.

Another tip I have is to use duct tape to hold the hem in place along with the pins.  It helped me.

If you are going to hang it with grommets, add these later. We didn't want the ropes to stand out much, so didn't want to use grommets this time.  I cut up strips of the fabric I had trimmed off, and sewed them in half for added strength.  Then zig zagged them to the back of the cloth at regular intervals.

While this will hang from a pole in the rod pocket, I was worried that it would blow or sway in the breeze, so the straps of fabric sewns the the painting's sides can be tied to the structure, and will help secure it and keep it in place.

To do the artwork, I needed a large wall space, so I cleaned out my garage and covered one wall with drop cloths. Then, nailed the canvas up over it. (my drop cloths have also been used previously to make Halloween party ghosts, see the faces on them?)

(yes, I have a giant, sequinned disco ball hanging in my garage, it tells me where to stop my car when I pull in. I've seen people use tennis balls in the same manner but that doesn't seem to be as much fun)

First step was to prime. 

I'm picky about primers, and know its important to use the right one for the job. In this case, a cheap, dry wall primer was fine. And I was glad I used it, because the fabric was thirsty and soaked it right up.

After it was primed and dry, I drew the door, and window with chalk and blocked in the colors.

For a large painting like this, quarts of latex wall paint in flat or eggshell works best for back grounds.

I used a sponge roller brush for the "stone"

To create the awnings, I marked the center of the top of each window, then tied a ribbon to a pencil.  The ribbon was cut to the length from the center of the window to the edge of it.  I held the ribbon at the mid spot, put the pencil on the corner of the window, and while holding the ribbon in place, drew the arc to the other corner.

For depth, I dry brushed a darker aqua over the sponge rolled base color, then did the same, lightly with white. I used white to create the mortar lines too.  The mortar lines are drawn on with a sponge dipped in the white paint.  I didn't want a sharp line that I might have got from a brush.

Next, I finished the window paintings and awnings.  Always work from the background out.  Nearer things are last to paint.

The two topiaries are my foreground, so I blocked those colors in after the windows were done.

Notice the Tiffanys sign? I stupidly painted it too high, over the rod pocket, so painted over it to redo.  Which really isn't a big deal. Its only paint. It can be changed till you get it right.  You might notice my doorknob is different in this picture than in the finished one too.  After I roughed this in, I didn't like  it, and a swath of pink paint over it erased the plain door knob quickly.

For the detail work, I used 2oz bottles of acrylic craft paint.

To get the metallic look that I have on the door knob, jewelry, and chandeliers, I painted them all in regular acrylic paint first to get the shadows, highlights, and shapes. Then, I covered that in  metallic paint.

I used the same 2oz craft bottles.  The silver and white metallic paints are very sheer and take a lot of coats to really cover, but that is what I like about them. I can do just one or two coats over my painting and get the metallic shine, but not cover up the details. But because they are sheer, its hard to build up color.  That is why I do the basic shape in opaque paint first.

When creating a topiary, I always draw the pot with brown paint first, then sketch three circles, connected by twisted stems.  After that, I block in the basic rose shapes, and color the entire background of the balls dark green mixed with a dark brown.

The same principal applies for the foreground as it did for the background. Paint the furthest things first.  I do the sticks and leaves in dark colors, then highlights over that. 

Next comes the leaves from dark to light, adding detail as I go.

I got side tracked and added a few butterflies!

After painting the pot/sticks/leaves/ then roses, I went back and touched up some of the leaves so that they were covering the roses a little bit here and there.

The moss is really easy, just scribbles and swirls with white and gray on a liner brush.  I paint the roses with a 2" flat brush, and the leaves with slightly smaller flat brush, adding veins with a liner brush.

Darker leaves toward the back, lighter in front, gives the illusion of roundness. The roses should face different directions, not all the same.

There is a tutorial on my sidebar with tips on doing a nest.

Layering is important. Make sure it looks like there are items in front of each other.

A few twirling tendrils out the side of the topiary soften the painting.

For the lettering, I used pale grey, outlined with dark brown. On the highlight side, I added a line of watered down white, on the shadowed side, a line of aqua a shade darker than the stones.

Next step, I let the paint cure a few days. Yes, it was dry to the touch, water based paints dry fast. But- I wasn't taking any chances of it sticking together when I rolled it up, so I gave it some time.

To mail it without fold marks, I bought cardboard tube mailers. They weren't big enough to put the 8' high mural inside of, or long enough either, so I duct taped 8 foot's worth of them together, and tightly rolled the canvas around it, then took the roll to the UPS store where they have boxes of all sizes and shapes.

Well, hopefully, when I return from California, I'll have some pictures of my friends and I in front of this storefront! 

For now, I have pics of my own little model whose imagination turned a painting on the wall into a private play house.  Here she is opening the door.

And jumping out of the door to yell surprise.

And dancing through the door.

The pictures I don't have are of her drawing on the door.  Yep, she had some fun with chalk making a picture just like Grammie did. Oh well, it was only chalk and wiped right off, coulda been worse...

In the backyard

The chicken coop isn't the only area that has been getting some sprucing up.  Sugarwing's Daddy has been helping me in the yard.  It was his idea to move my old bike over to this tree, and I think it was a good one.

There are pink begonias planted in the baskets,but they are still tiny right now.  Most of the Spring plants have finished and we are moving on to the summer blooms already, so these begonias should be taking off soon.  Of course, in a normal year, I'd be worried about getting a late freeze, but I don't feel one coming on this year.

Seriously? Roses already?

Now, I'm NOT complaining. Just perplexed. And a little bit worried.

What a year. Winter was so mild and Spring so lovely.  Will Summer be a scorcher?

We live over an aquifer and have great well water, so I'm prepared to spend the summer watering.

But for right now, I'm loving every second of this rare Spring heat.  I've got more yard work done by March than I usually have done by June.

And we have had nice, new gravel spread in the courtyards and sidewalks.

Well, it started out nice and fresh...  but now, it already has gopher mounds in it!!

Last fall, we took out a few sickly trees. These stumps never got hauled off, so I turned them into planter holders.  I've planted lots of viney things in these whiskey barrels, so I hope to see trailing vines cover up most of the stumps in a couple of months. (the barrels are from the Home Depot and they get them from the Jack Daniels factory. When I bought them, I could still smell the whiskey!)

How is Spring where you are at? Is it weirdly wonderful there too?

I heard on NPR the other day that over 7000 temperature records have been broken for the Midwest in March and so far in April!

 

In the Land of $3 Hats

Last week, I got to spend a day with three good friends. We hit the road and went on a junk-a-thon.  In the past, this was a regular occurrence with us, but somehow we'd gotten away from the habit and realized it had been about 3 years since we got away for a day long junkin trip.

Life and families might get in the way sometimes, but a solid friendship will hold up and be waiting for you when things settle down. With small kids, some scary cancer issues, and just every day life, we haven't had time for day long play dates, but we all know we will be there for each other  and ready to share a good time even if all we can manage is a chat and a cup of coffee together here and there.

A whole day to hunt treasure is a treasure in itself, and it was sure nice.

We drove up to St. Joe, MO and I found a hat or two at each store we hit.  I whispered up a few really affordable deals. Its not often that I find $3 ones. Not all were that cheap, of course, but even a couple at that price was pretty exciting and I might have peed a little bit when I saw them. But, then again, I'm getting old, so that doesn't take much.

The rose pattern barkcloth was a good find too, I'm considering making cushions for the bench in the breezeway with this.  One panel was a bit damaged, so was only $15, but I got the one in perfect condition too, and thought $26 wasn't bad for it either.

Its roses!  And barkcloth!

For only 2 bucks, I got this Audrey charm, its under bevelled glass, and is going to be just what I need for my trip to see my buddy Kim, at her Tiffany's event.   I'm not going all out on the theme, but a black dress, some pearls and this pendant will make me feel like I fit in.  I've got the pearls from my Great Aunt Caroline. 

Not so sure about the black dress.  Hmmm, I think I'll be happier in black jeans and a tee shirt.

I've not had much time to think about it, and probably won't.  Her big shindig is a few days after my lil Birdsong party.  So, I'll be thinking about birdies and my own to-do up till its time to pack and head to LA.  I'll be lucky to even remember to pack my new pendant, let alone look for a black dress.

   These baskets were from an earlier junking trip, at least a year ago.  I finally added them to the Boutique, almost in time for Easter projects.   Seriously, I need to be up on the holidays a bit better. No, a lot better. If I had a lick of sense, I'd have been trying to push these way back in February for those of you who do plan ahead and need supplies. 

Cute, aren't they?  I have a few pairs of them listed, all are mini baskets, vintage and made in Japan. 

There are a couple more new things there too.  Not many, but more than I told myself I'd add. I'm supposed to be working on getting ready for Birdsong! But between day trips, grand fairies, yard work, dinner parties, and discovering how fantastic the Hunger Games are, I'm behind.

But if you've read any of the books, or seen the movie, I'm sure you will understand. Katniss Everdeen is an addiction that you can't beat! I'm near the end of book 3, and had to rush out to see the movie as soon as I finished the first one.

I've also had some other projects going.  This one about kicked my butt. Its a giant banner that I am painting, and its not the paint part that got me. My original job was as a muralist, and I've painted 60 foot murals with no problem. But this one was complicated because its on fabric, and had to be hemmed and ironed.

I can scale scaffolding and paint a huge wall over a hotel swimming pool without even planning or sketching first.  But battling a sewing machine and an ironing board while swallowed up in 13 feet of canvas? I don't even think that my hero, Katniss, would deal well with that.

Kansas Spring

Wow, what weather we are having!  Dewdrop and I have made the most of it by doing LOTS of yard work while the sun is shining.  These delightful days are unpredictable this time of year, so when one comes along, I make the most of it, knowing that it could be a fluke and I won't have a chance to work outside again any time soon.

But, they just keep on a coming. One beautiful  day after another, with just enough rainy ones in between to make everything grow and turn green.

I just hope they keep on a comin.  I could use this kind of weather for Birdsong at the end of April! I hope the prettiness continues. (Birdsong is full now, thanks!)

So far, just about every spring blooming tree and shrub has prematurely burst into glorious buds all at the same time.  Its one of those breath taking Spring times when everywhere you look, there are blasts of pastel color.  As much as  I love it, I think I'd still prefer the step by step color, where a few bushes start blooming, then more open up a few at a time.  Its a head on collision of color this year.

I do love seeing  it, but I worry that this way, its all going to be played out early and done by the end of April when my guests arrive!

Its tempting to plant too much too soon, and I've tried to stop myself from getting too carried away. Its entirely possible that we could get a late snow or at least a hard frost yet.

So, I've planted only things that would hold up if the warmth fades.  Lots of pansies and snapdragons so far.  Plus, I've been cleaning and clearing. Every year when I start my Spring yard work, I'm kicking myself and declaring that NEVER again will I wimp out on clearing all the fall leaves in Autumn.  Because every year, I spend a few hours blowing leaves mulitple times in October and September, but we have so many trees, it barely makes a dent in them.

At first, I'm enjoying being outside and in the crisp fall air. 

Then, my arm starts to get tired. 

Then, the leaf piles seem bigger and bigger.

That is when I start to day dream about moving away to a condo on a beach somewhere. With no elm trees. No walnut trees. No whipping Kansas wind blowing the leaves back in my face as fast as my leaf blower shoos them away.

Then, the resentment begins to build and I start to get ill tempered.

So I quit, thinking I'll get back to them "later".

And usually I  end up leaving quite a few of  them till Spring.

And every Winter, they pile up, all soggy, wet, and heavy, half decomposed and rotting, waiting for me to brave them in the Springtime.

One phrase I've always preached to my kids is this- "Ignoring your problems only makes them bigger and worse. Fix them while they are still small and easier to deal with"  But do I listen to my own advice when it comes to leaves?

Never.

But Spring always comes, and I finally have no choice, I have to face the leaves. I'd like to think that our flower beds are happier with all of the decayed vegetation overwintering in them.  And I try to leave as much of it as possible where it lays and just top it with mulch. I've got 20 bags to start with.

The rest of the leaves, I blow into the woods. It always seems like a lot of work, but at least I don't have to bag and haul them.  We like it natural around here.

And having a helper out in the yard with me makes the work go faster.

Easter Eggs

Ahhhh, Spring!

The Bridal Wreath Spirea is blooming like crazy in front of my house. Sugarwings and I took advantage of it and picked armfuls to bring in the house.

For most of the year, they are not the prettiest of shrubs, but for a few weeks, these bushes are heart stopping.

We are also getting all Eastery around here.

I've been covering paper mache eggs in vintage papers and old flowers.  This paper is over 100 years old and is gold leaf.

This little egg is wrapped in a pearl finish gift wrap, then sugared.

This one really is prettier in person, its wonderfully gaudy with lots of gold trim and tons of flowers over one of my favorite rose pattern wall papers.

I wanted to list it for sale in the Boutique, but  I think I need to get better photos first.

Beth found a big bag full of paper mache eggs at an estate sale and gave them to me, knowing that I'd love covering them.  Some are egg shaped boxes like this one others are just plain eggs.  I've been making some for Birdsong, where I 'll use them for decor and drawing prizes, but a few just shout Easter, so those I'll go ahead and sell now, or as soon as I get better pictures that is.

Some are listed now, if you are interested.

A forgotten drawer of pretties and a not forgotten, but delayed Fairy Swap

The other day, I needed some supplies for a quick sketch to determine the style of a mural I am planning, and had to dig through my painting supplies drawer to find the paper I needed.

While I was in there, I took a little time to look at some paintings I have stashed away in the drawer. Some I had plans for, some I just did for the heck of it, the others were the basis of cards or something else that was a one time thing.

Recognize the roses? They were used as part of my blog design.  I really should frame those, its one of my favorite paintings.

In the last few years, I have not taken the time to paint like I used to.

Finding a drawer full of paintings that I'd forgot about brought back a lot of memories.

Normally, I finish everything I start, whether I'm feeling satisfied with it or not. Its just  a quirk of mine, I keep going till its done. So I was surprised to find this half completed fairy in the drawer. Hmmm, while I have my paints out, I might just have to finish her. Looking at all of these has got me in a painting mood.

On the other hand, I have plenty of other things I need to get done and I do my best to not get sidetracked with projects that are intriguing but not on my list.  Durn list!  Its pretty long at this point. And adding to it won't make marking things off go any easier.  I'm even considering writing the list down, its getting so long and I dont' think my brain can take holding any more on this mental list of things I have hovering above me like a storm cloud.

Sometimes I think that seeing things written down makes them easier to tackle and less intimidating.

Writing directions and photographing step by steps for the Twining and Twirling Tutorial, 3 Wire Workshops was NOT on my list. I do tend to get sidetracked and have now spent three days on creating that blog site.  Well, at least I got a lot of nests made for Birdsong while I was at it!

Speaking of Birdsong, I got the loveliest gift in the mail from Mercedes!

She had hoped to come  to our weekend party in April and couldn't make it after all. She found this box of spun cotton tiny birdies and a vintage date book filled with birdie illustrations, and sent them to me.  I will share some of them with the attendees, and add Mercedes to our Sponsor list on the side bar of my blog.

If you'd like to sponsor something for the drawings or goodie bags, please contact me.

Another new sponsor is Gail Schmidt of Shabby Cottage Studios. She has donated two $25 gift certificates to her shop for door prizes at Birdsong. Her shop is filled with things that the winners will be thrilled to shop through!  Here are some of her sites:

www.shabbycottagestudio.com

www.shabbycottagestudio.net

www.creativeworkshops.ning.com

www.shabbycottagestudio.etsy.com

Thanks, Mercedes and Gail!

Oh, and the sketch I needed to do for the bigger project, that got me started digging through the drawer of watercolor memories? All done. If I had a list written down, I could cross this off of it!  Here is a snippet of the picture, I don't want to give away the whole surprise.

On my mind since before Christmas, was hosting a Fairy Swap.  I want to do a book of fairies, and I still plan on doing it.  But so many things came up in my family since the holidays, I never got it planned for this winter.  Now, here comes spring and I'm on the countdown to Birdsong. 

I could probably squeeze in time to do a swap, despite that looming list- but its the space that the packages take up that is stopping me. Could I squeeze those in?

I will be turning my studio into a classroom for 25, and a hundred piles of fairies spread out over it might not fit very well with the students!

As I have done for Alice, Dorothy, and Birdsong swaps in the past, I'll paint a cover for the theme, copy it, and then embellish each cover by hand and add some nice vintagey pieces.

But for this one, I'm planning something Bigger and Better. Details to come, lets plan on May, okay? I think the fae prefer springtime any way, don't you? Their little wings would be frosty now.

So, please bear with me, I do plan on hosting this swap, and am excited to do it, sorry that I have to wait!

On a completely different subject and one that ticks me off almost as  much as losing Picnik, have you heard that Google Friend Connect is closing too?  I'm wondering, will I lose the followers on that list?  What do you know about it?

If you read my blog on Google Reader, but got there by subscribing on my side bar with Google Friend Connect, maybe you should subscribe directly on Google Reader, or I could just vanish from your list.  I really am not sure what will happen.  But I'd hate to lose you as a "Friend" even though Friend Connect is gone!

The craftless craft day

Some friends came over for lunch Tuesday, and we almost had a craft day along with it. I'd planned an all day crafting day with lunch in the  middle, but plans changed, so we enjoyed what time we had.

And I'll take any excuse to buy some fresh flowers for my kitchen. My local grocery store offers mark down floral bundles on Mondays, but I don't always treat myself to them. Or if I do, I'll buy one or two bundles. But for this special occasion, I splurged and got 7!

Did I mention they were only $1.99 each?  And some of the ones available were pink roses, which are favorites of mine. I rarely buy the roses though, because I am a cheapskate, even at two bucks, I figure that the carnations will last 4 times as long, so I go for those.

Plus I feel kind of sorry for carnations, they are often unappreciated.

Sometimes I wonder about myself.  Really?  Too cheap to buy $2 worth of roses because they will only look good for a few days?? 

I was thrilled to have a reason to buy enough flowers to put all around the cottage. 

Including the treat cabinet in the studio.

And the coffee cart next to it.

We didn't even end up making anything that day, but we did "retire to the studio" after lunch to have treats and spend an hour or so being creative.

We were so busy talking and laughing we never got around to crafting on craft day.  I see Carol so rarely, and this was the first time Lesa has been out to visit, so we had a lot of catching up to do.  My buddy, Angie was able to come by just for lunch, she had a client to meet with afterward. 

I know that everyone is busy, so it means a lot to me when friends can make time to come and hang out for all day or for a short visit, whatever they can squeeze in.

One of the things we talked about was how nice it is to have other women to discuss business or family issues with.  Its a topic that Carol has insight with, she has even started a blog that addresses that subject, called  Good Stella where she offers encouragement and advice to help women on the road to achieving their dreams.

Carol is always generous with her time and experience.  And has good advice to offer.

This bird topped tree is one that I made in another friend's class a few years back. Sheila makes the coolest stuff, and is such a nice person. I always set it out for Valentine's decorating.

This year, I've added an ephemera heart from Ginger Shrader, and liked her sweet idea so much, that I hung a few more similar hearts on the tree too.  Its sitting on a vintage candy box, that I picked up cheap because the top wasn't very pretty and I thought I'd foof it up. But when I flipped it over, I saw that the back was much more attractive and I display it as is- upside down.

Hmmm, what was I talking about? Oh yes, friends. And how lucky I am to have time with them. 

Working as an artist can be a lonely job.  Which is why I love craft days, and classes, and other gatherings of creative pals.  Now, I am not knocking being an artist.  I can't imagine having to put on real clothes and leave the house to go to a real job every day. Well, sometimes I do day dream about those real pay checks... but heck, anyone who'd hire an uneducated, no skills person like me probably wouldn't pay much anyhow.

Working from home is great. And I have the Dorkies to keep me company, as well as visits online from blog friends.

But there is something extra nice about actually having people come to the house, sit down, and chat.

 

 

Gathering the Good Stuff and whispering up a load of hats

Maybe I've mentioned that I've been behind a bit?  Well, I'm getting caught up.  Finally, I think I have all the supplies needed to create the necklace for my Birdsong Two project.

Since I was only using vintage beads, I had to scrounge to find enough old necklaces to take apart before I could make my prototype pendant.

Slowly, but surely, I gathered beads, crystals, and pearls in clear, taupe, cream, white, brown and pale pink.

As I accumulated baubles, I snipped them apart, carefully counted and sorted the treasures, and then made up a chart to keep track of how many of each that I had.  For every kit, I needed beads in increments of 25, (Plus some for the examples too) so I divided them up into bags of 25, 50, and so on, then did a little sketch of each one, added a description and a number into my ledger.  As I sorted, I started a separate bag of beads to set aside for the example, making sure I had the exact number for myself that I have for the class kits.

Yep, it would have been so much easier to order a package of pearls on-line or at Hobby Lobby.  But I wouldn't want a necklace made out of those, why would I think my guests would want one?  We are going to Use the Good Stuff.

My jaunts to antique malls have been fast and single minded.  I've had Sugarwings, her Daddy, his Gypsy and our little Dewdrop staying with me while we nursed the broken wing of our little fairy. They all tagged along with me to get out of the house and the searches were to the point, no time to meander about.

But, who could blame me for spying a floral hat here and there while I was on a desperate hunt for crystals?

Its been  Hat Bonanza Bonus Week around here! And I found a handful of necklaces too, old pearls, lots of aurora borealis crystals, and some mother of pearl.

There are probably enough gems in my treasure chest to start crafting my necklace. My chart might seem a bit of overkill for sorting beads, but by nature I am not an organized person. I have to severely train myself to be careful, double count, and make lists. If not, things go in one ear and out my mouth. I'm  not even organized enough for the traditional in one ear and out the other style of doing business.

Song Of Love Wreath workshop for Valentines Day

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!

Fumpity Fump Fump

 We were out shopping the other day and Sugarwings saw this sign on a stand and in her mind, it was the perfect microphone, so she started to serenade all the shoppers.  The kid seems to have inherited my singing voice.  And also the joy of singing out, loudly. 

Its a short video if you want to watch it, and my favorite part is where she is distracted by something shiny and walks away just as she sings "look at Frosty go". 

This year, the holiday month seems to be racing by faster than I can keep up.

Its happening too fast and will be over before I know it! So, I'm slowing down and making myself take in every minute of it.  Sugarwings has been spending a lot of time with me and she agrees that we need to make the most of our days. We've had a hot cocoa party every night that she sleeps over, lit only by the lights of the tree.

We make an event of it, setting the table with our best china, filling our favorite tea pot with hot milk, and passing around tiny bowls of shaved chocolate, mini marshmallows, and peppermint sticks.  Not only are we getting a delicious bedtime snack, we are learning about manners, polite conversation, and building memories to treasure.

We are watching all the holiday specials that we can cram into our time together, without losing out on time to create and cook too.  As much as I love holiday baking, its even better with her. 

There has been a ton of cookies and fudge being whipped up, as well as a  gingerbread house we had to put together with hot glue before we could decorate it.

I'm trying to show Dewdrop about the joys of baking too, she held the mixer for us last week. Its a start!  Soon, I'll have two little helpers.

With her Daddy being so busy getting the Yurt weather proof and ready to live in for the long, cold winter, and her Hippy Chick Mommy studying hard for her first semester of nursing school finals (I'm proud to say that she is an A student!), I've been lucky enough to have lots of holiday play time with my fairy girl.

Sometimes, we invite guests to the parties too, like Luna Moona, her Raggedy Ann doll.

Last week, Dewdrop came to her first bedtime cocoa party and I have a feeling, she will be a regular at them with us next year. She adores anything that has to do with food.

And for some odd reason, Sugarwings has been setting an extra place at the table for my sisters. She is fascinated by them and talks about them a lot. I guess she knows how much I love and miss them, even though she has only met them a handful of times in her short life and they live far away.

Yes, its been a sweet December!