Karla's Cottage

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.

 

Workshops, giveaways, and an angel of a dog

Dorothy Rosebud and I just might need to order more cupid wings for foofing.  She likes to play dress up as much as Sugarwings does, apparently.

Plus, I like making them.

I've also been hooked on making wire cages. As I work on them, I'm taking photos so I can do an online tutorial too.

But so far, the cage details aren't worth passing on.  I need to make a few more to get it perfected.  Each one I make teaches me a bit more on the best ways to build them from the ground up

Which is important in a tutorial.  The first few I make of something, I just wing it.  Then, if I like the idea and make more prototypes, I start narrowing down just what works, what doesn't, how long is this piece, how big is that one. 

Weeks of work go into making a tutorial, but they can sell for years, so they are worth the effort for me to get it right.

And if you enjoy my online classes, maybe you'd like an in person one?  Valentine Journal Workshop on Saturday, Feb 2nd, all supplies included, just bring tools!  $100, Details in the previous post.

I'll be giving away one of Amy's books then.  Or you can win one by leaving a comment  on my blog on any post.

I'll be away from my computer for a while, I'm in PARADISE as you read this.  Any Etsy or Boutique orders will be mailed on the 30th.

Away

Its hard for me to travel this time of year.  I know, I know, its barely November, not even Thanksgiving yet!  But I am such a home body and for the last few years we have been on the go so much, that this holiday season, I want to plant myself firmly by the hearth and just soak up all the festiveness that I can.

With the pups around, its even harder to leave.

But I know they are happy with Beth and Jeff. 

Those two met the pups before I even got to see them, they came by to help bottle feed when Twinkle gave birth and I was at my family reunion.

As this is posted, I'm in NC at a nephew's wedding. I'm happy to be seeing family and will have a great time with them, but its nice to know that we have not made any more travel plans for November or December.  I might put my tree up and just park myself under it to stare at the lights for a while when we get home.

 

While snuggling these fuzzballs of course.

Geez, I'm homesick and I haven't even left yet.  I need to get a grip on myself and go have some fun.  If I'm not careful, I'll turn myself into a boring, old, shut in with a houseful of hoarded animals and too many vintage pieces of junk that I tell myself are "supplies" that I will need in the future, not trash!  

Oh, but I just love being at home. 

 

Kitty Boy and the Pups

There are more photos of our Romantic Gothic Ghost weekend, as well as the Zombie parade, but first I wanted to show you some of the cuteness that is always under foot around here.

We took the pups out to run and enjoy the great weather (where was this sunshine while company was here??? We had to cancel our trip to the Renfest, everyone was too cold).

The babies were so excited that most pictures I took were just a blur of joy.

They followed Twinkle like baby ducklings. Or I guess, like baby puppies.  But when the tough, old barn cat came by, they veered off after him.

Which he didn't care for.

Luckily, no one was hurt.  A hiss was enough to give the pups pause.

Well, most of them. This guy was too curious to let it go.  They have seen nothing but snuggles and love all of their little lives and have no idea that not everyone thinks they are adorable.

ps- I'd pretend that our grass looks so awful just because of the draught this year, but honestly, we don't have much of a yard.  So, please,  avert your eyes from the pufts of grass sticking out of the dirt and enjoy the pups.  You would never know from looking at our yard that my husband works for a golf course company, huh?

I'm crowded! Roll over!

These guys are growing FAST.

Their meals have been supplemented from the beginning and now they are eating dog food, but they still waddle to mama whenever they can.  She does her best to accommodate them.  At this point, I think its more of a comfort than dinner, they chew on whatever part of her they can, whether it produces milk or not.  Her poor belly is all marked up. 

But she adores the babies and doesn't want to be kept from them.

No matter how much space they have, they still all sleep in a big pile together.  Even when the pile gets so high that one rolls off, like this guy!

It reminds me of that Little Bear song that I sing to the grand fairies:

Five bears in the bed and the little one said "I'm crowded, roll over" So they all rolled over, and one fell out
Four bears in the bed, and the little one said "I'm crowded, roll over" So they all rolled over and one fell out
Three bears in the bed, and the little one said "I'm crowded, roll over" So they all rolled over and one fell out
Two bears in the bed, and the little one said "I'm crowded, roll over" So they all rolled over and one fell out
One bear in the bed, and the little one said "I'm lonely"

They are learning to come when called now. I call "Puppies!" and they start to stumble to me. As each one makes its way, I pick it up, give it some love, then call the next, working my way all the way through the nine.

Funny, the same one is always last to come. The littlest girl sits and waits her turn patiently.

They are all getting personalities.  This guy is the vocal one. Since he was born, he was always the one to speak up and let us know what he had to say.

I'm still not sure who will live with me forever. . It will probably be once they are running around  free in the studio before I know who I need to keep. That will be the one who is always at my feet when I look down.   

I'm waiting for someone to pick me, I guess.

I have deleted the sign up page for Romantic Gothic Ghosts so I don't oversell accidently.  We are keeping it limited to a small group. But if you are interested, please email me for info.  karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

Bye Bye Fairies, Hello Ghosts!

Isn't this fairy from Linda sweet as can be?

 It's sad that the Faery Book Swap is over! I made a couple more pages, as thank yous to some sweet people.  And I have extra covers that I hope to list on Etsy or in the Boutique. If I ever get a spare minute to do it!

In the fairy frenzy, I'd made up about 16 pages for the swap, and didn't need them all of course, so I'll have a few of those to list too.  But I didn't want to use any of those as thank yous. I thought "thanks" deserved something made special just for it.

  I still have my family's books, they weren't mailed because we are going to open them all together when everyone gets here to visit for Romantic Gothic Ghosts.

I'm so glad that Guncle Randy, Sissy, Bobbie Sue and Terry can come out to play with us for the classes! We hope to go to see the annual Lawrence Zombie walk if everyone arrives in time, it will be on Thurs. the 4th and family is flying/driving in from Utah, Florida and Indiana.

Then, Friday is shopping at the West Bottoms district, with all the once a month junk and antique stores, as well as Bottoms Up.

Saturday the 6th will be our ghost filled craft day, with Gypsy spells and ravens. Sunday we plan on hitting the Renfest, all decked out in our fairy attire.  A perfect little reunion!!  Plus I get to have my blog friends meet my family, that will be nice.  I'm glad that we are having a workshop while the relatives are in town.

Along with the thank you pages, I mailed out hand made envelopes stuffed with tidbits.  To make these, I looked at a regular envelope to get an idea for the pattern, cut it out from an old book page, folded it up and glued the edges.  Simple, and kinda cute.  I might need to do more of these!

I've gone straight from sweet fairies to gothic ghosts.

These images (provided in the online Romantic Gothic Ghost class) are printed on transparencies and hung around the room.

And the room is a WRECK!  I've started cleaning and decorating, but need to get all the chaos and clutter out too. 

I started decorating at the ceiling first, then the cabinet tops around the room.  I'm sure most people would have cleaned the whole room, put away the mess and then started fixing up.  But I got too excited about making the ghosts and had to do the fun parts first!

See how they are hung from tattered tulle on the ceiling?  (I'll have more photos later)

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Speaking of photos, I've noticed that no matter how good my camera is, and how well I edit pictures, they NEVER look as good on my blog as they do on my computer files. 

I wish I could fix this.... I also noticed that if you click on one to open it in a bigger window, its sharper.

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Another instance of backward preparedness- instead of cleaning and making kits, I wanted to make some ghostly images to set around the room. This collage is an old trinket box with a glass lid that Beth gave me. I took out the image that came it in, turned it on its side and made it a shadow box.

A transparency spider image is across the glass, and a ghostly girl is layered over a gothic arch  (from the albums full of pictures and images and backgrounds and patterns that were scanned and added to the online class) and glued to the back of the box. I then added some tatted trim and some very old, beat up flowers.

Its very small, and I seriously doubt that it adds a lot to the over all decor of the room. But it was something I really wanted to do.

We had lots of projects made up for the online class that I pulled out to use around the room too.  This tag is pinned to my new curtains, hung just for the occasion. The tag is one of the "ready to go" bonus images from the class. All you do is print it and cut it out.

The curtains are from the Sparks Flea, and were $1.  When I bought them, they were a hideous, fleshy peach. But I liked the over all pattern and the flocking was cool, so I gambled that dollar and bought them any way, hoping a bowl of dye would take.

It did and now I just love them.!  Thing is, though, I bought them thinking I'd cut them apart to use in projects, and to test the dye, I cut a hunk off the bottom of one to dip.  I loved it so much, that I dyed the rest of the panels and hung them up, even with a hunk missing at the bottom of one.  

In the window, is a banner also made from the Romantic Gothic Ghost online classes.  There are tons of projects, decorating ideas, and printable images in the class. I'd forgotten how much there was in it, and had a lot of fun looking through it with fresh eyes.

Everyone coming to the class at the studio gets the online class free too. We still have a couple spots open for our one day party in the studio if you'd like to join us.

You could hold a puppy on your lap while you work.....

A Passel of Pups

I'm growing very fond of this little pup.  Sugarwings calls her The New Agnes Rosebud.  I told her that Agnes was very special and one of a kind, this pup deserves her own special name.   If I keep her, she might have Rosebud as a middle name to honor Aggie Rose, though.

Agnes was my grandmother's name and our dog was named after her. My husband asked if we could name one after his grandmother, Dorothy.  Dorothy!! One of Sugarwing's all time favorite people! Dorothy Rosebud should work just fine. I could call her Dot.

The babies are learning how to play. Its pretty funny when we call "puppies!", they bounce around and try to come to us and climb out of their pen. They look like burnt popcorn jumping around in a pan.

Its hard to get a group shot, there is so much motion, it becomes a blur.

But the chaos doesn't last long, a couple minutes of play wears them out and they are soon sound asleep.

We are still bottle feeding the herd.  I've tried dishes and they get more on themselves than in.  So, I cut a larger hole in the nipple and fill the bottle with a cereal, formula mix.  They love it, and one feeding is usually about 4-5 bottles. 

Aunt Sandy is feeling better now, she has had a sore back and couldn't work for a few months.  Now, she is back at work with long days on the surgical floor as an RN, so I'm on my own for feedings for a while.  Its more efficient (and cuddlier) to use the bottle, but soon, I'll have to train them to use a bowl.  Or a trough. 

My husband says we should keep two of them, since we are NEVER breeding pups again after the stress of what Twinkle went through.

One baby goes to the father's family, one to Dewdrop, one to my husband's assistant, and at least one to us.

That still leaves a passel of pups to sell, larger than most Yorkie litters! I'm not sure if I want two or not, I'm greedy about puppy time and would like to have just one to raise as my own so I can have her all to myself. If she has a litter mate, she might bond with him more than with me.  Yes, I am greedy.

Although, Twinkle is a great dog,  I really should keep as many mini Twinks as I can, or some day I'll be sorry.  She has a great heart and is about as loyal and loving as a dog can be. 

Notice the plants behind her?  They are in the whiskey barrels I bought last spring, to turn the stumps into planters. The vines have really taken off and I've been happy with the result. Much cheaper than having stumps removed!

And the $1 solar lights from Walmart have been so pretty all summer.  I bought the very plain ones, but now the fancier ones are on sale for $1 each, so I got a dozen of those for next year.  My niece has some and says that hers have worked well for 3 years now, which is good to know. I'd not tried them before.

Speaking of cheap, I was at the garden center snapping up more clearance flowers, and they were snipping off the left over caladiums to pack the bulbs away for winter.  There was a wheelbarrow full of leaves and Sugarwings asked if she could make a bouquet of them.   She loves to pretend she is a bride and always needs bouquets.

The nice lady gave her an arm full, and one to me too. I put them in water when we got home, and they look every bit as fresh a week later.  I wonder how long they will last this way?  I'm loving them.

Feeding time

Gracious, it has been hectic around here. Fairy pages and books, grand fairies, puppies, and a major deadline that I need to hit for another project, have all whipped my butt.

We did scoot away to Big Cedar Lodge for a couple of days, and I think I spent the entire time sleeping by the pool! Aunt Sandy took care of the babies while I was gone, and I needed that time away to get a bit caught up on my zzzs.  These guys and the other forty million things I'm in the middle of are keeping me hopping!

This is the biggest and the littlest. I've been calling the big boy "Corkie" because he is the one that caused Twinkle all the problems and was almost too big for her to deliver.  Aunt Sandy calls him Big Head.

Sugarwings calls the littlest one her new Agnes Rosebud. But there could never be another Aggie Rose, this dog deserves her own special name.

The Vet said to start them on cereal when they were 3 weeks old.  I jumped the gun by one day, but I think that is ok. 

They had more on their tummies than in.  They prefer licking it off of fingers to slurping it from a bowl.

I'll have more fairy pages to show you next time.  Right now, I need to go and feed those nine hungry babies again!

 

Week old puppies

So far, Twinkle has been too good of a mama.  She keeps those babies stuffed to the brim!  We are supposed to be supplementing her feedings so she doesn't deplete her calcium and get sick, but its hard to compete with her at feeding time. Those little guys would much rather have a mommy than a bottle.  Or as Dewdrop always called nursing, "Moops". (a combination of mommy and boobs)

These photos are from Sept. 1st.  But the babies seem to get bigger by the hour!

I discovered that they like the bottle hotter than I think it should be.  The wrist test that you'd do for a human baby isn't accurate for the pups.  A dog's temp runs over 100 degrees, so a comfortable drop on the wrist for us is cool for them.

Since I realized that I've been serving the milk too cool, and started to warm it up, I've been able to compete with the moops a little better.  Now, when I poke a hot bottle of formula at a puppy, they clamp on and can even sometimes drink half a bottle. 

I'm glad, it was getting frustrating and I was worried about poor Twinks.  I've also discovered that I need to take her over to the studio with me for about 45 minutes before feeding so that she doesn't beat me to it and they all have full tummies before I can even attempt to feed them.

My house is smelling like a dog.  Twinkle keeps them clean, but they are smelly pups. I think they are about big enough for a bath. We change the bedding a few times a day, but they still smell up the place. I think that Twinkle and I are both still shocked that there are so many babies, 9 can be pretty overwhelming. 

I'm so glad we had a break in the weather and could open all the windows and air the place out. That was a relief. We really needed rain around here, but  I think I needed some fresh, cool air even more!

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 I've had a comment, from someone unhappy that we had pups.  Here is my response:

I have to agree with you when it comes to pure bred dogs in puppy mills. Those poor things are treated like a cash crop, not beloved pets and have many issues with health and social behavior.

My dogs are lovingly raised to make sweet pets, and are coddled and cuddled from the minute they are born. There will always be pet owners who want a preferred breed of dog, and they deserve a chance to get one with a good start in life with a background that they can trust.

I do not have pups to make money. There is not much profit after expenses. The little money I do get goes to Sugarwings' college fund since Twinkle is her dog.

Twinkle is bred with our friend's Yorkie, who she adores. And she is a devoted mama who also adores her pups. Teddy's family treats her well while she is visiting there, it's a happy time, not stressful for her.
I breed her with Teddy because she is such a loyal, love filled, ball of joy, that I want another dog just like her. She is not show quality but she is an ideal little pet and so are her babies.

People know how well my babies are treated and if they get one, know they will be getting a socialized and well adjusted addition to their family whose mom was part of our family, not a bitch in a cage who never was let outside or played with.

My grand dogs go to good homes, we actually give away quite a few pups to family and friends so that I get to stay in contact with them and watch them grow up. I don't charge outrageous amounts for my dogs. And I don't provide papers, they are AKC but I don't think that is important. What matters is that they are full blooded terriers with that spunky, loyal attitude and raised in a happy, safe environment People don't buy my dogs to breed, only to love.

Trying to keep up

These guys are the reason I have no new photos edited to show you.   Please excuse the camera phone shot. I don't know what I'd do if Aunt Sandy wasn't helping with them.

Its been slightly crazy around here lately, between having grands over, middle of the night puppy feedings, giant wild cats stealing chickens (I ran out into the woods trying to hunt it down, then stopped and wondered what I'd do if I did actually catch it!), constantly cleaning up after Twinkle and her brood, piles of packages coming in for the Faery Book Swap, trying to finish up my covers, throwing a hero dinner for Sandy for saving the pups, and mailing out boxes full of millinery flowers sold in the Boutique, I'm wrecked.

Plus, while it seems like weeks ago, it was really only a few days past that I was co-hostessing a family reunion in another state. 

So, of course, today after a midnight and 4 am puppy feeding, I left the morning meal to Sandy and hit the road to go to a flea market today. It was good to play hooky.

Whew, what a week!  Actually not even a full week yet.

No wonder I'm tired! And haven't announced the giveaway winner.  Which by the way is:

Tish Porter