Karla's Cottage

I cannot resist an unloved and rejected doll

No one bought this doll from Beth at Juju, so she placed it out in the parking lot where we have extra space for either clearance goods or overflow.  She told me to take it, and I said, only if it’s still there at the end of the sale.

At the end of the day, there she was, forlorn and left in the gravel, overlooked by hundreds of shoppers.

Poor Ani.

Was it the “substance” congealed on some parts of her? Or possibly her crunched in chest?  Probably that look on her face. 

I redid her face in the style of vintage, French sitting dolls.

After vigorously scrubbing off the uhm, substance of some kind.

Next was a  new hairstyle made of angora. I brought the hair forward onto her throat so she no longer had a neck like a WWE wrestler.  

I don’t sew, her delightful princess gown is pieced together from other doll clothes and bits of lace then glued into place.

The only thing missing?  Maybe a crown?  She deserves one to feel better after all the rejection she faced.

Oh, and maybe a bouquet of flowers to hide her muppety looking (but freshly painted) hands. 

A Nightmare Before Christmas combo with a few turkeys thrown in

Yep, it’s that time again.

I am all set up and ready for First Friday Weekend in the Old West Bottoms of KC.

And for October, many dealers have taken on a range of holidays.  We are still featuring Halloween, and autumn, and there is some Thanksgiving decor here and there too.

And for everyone who thinks it’s too early for Halloween, here’s a lil bit of Christmas for ya.  It seems way too early for me too, but in the past couple of years, I did not get on board with early Yule tide wares and my October sales were lacking.  I don’t know why I didn’t just go whole hog holiday, xmas is my absolute fave and I have a ton ready to go.

Fall is not my best theme, well excluding Halloween, that is

I love the Romantic Gothic, spooky stuff.  So I have a combo booth with a different theme on each wall.

Plus my regular jewelry set up and some pretties to go along with that.

These are some of my witch’s brooms.  I still have a big selection of those. Actually even though my Halloween sales last month were good, there is plenty left of it.  I tend to go way over the top when creating for the seasons.  In my mind, as I’m crafting and collecting, my booth must be full sized, not a tiny little half space.

It can look a little crowded, with so much inventory in an 8 1/2’ area.  I’d love to have more space!

But knowing me, I’d just overcrowd that too.

Come and see us if you can, like I said, this month- there is a little bit of everything on top of our regular wares and vintage goods.  Say hi and wish me a Merry Halloween if you come by.

 

Details matter

To be ready for Christmas crafting, I ordered 50 mini deer.  Preferably, I’d like to use vintage, but for how I use them the cost is just too high.  And I doubt my shoppers would notice if they were old or not.

The order came and the little guys were pretty cute, just what I needed.  But I did think the color was a little flat.


So I got out the warm, brown Stays On ink and rubbed some on with an old brush.  I felt like that helped give them some dimension.  

Most ended up coated with glue and a fine, snow-like glitter, so I didn’t replace the white spots.  I’m pleased with how they turned out, it was an easy fix, and so far I’ve used lots of them in my projects.  Yep, I’m full speed on Santa Season decor and have already been building up the sparkly inventory.

Pictures to come, and boy, will there be tons of them.

 

 

 

A garden wedding in the Appalachians

Where can I find a chandelier crystal this size? I was mesmerized by it.

Although that exceedingly large, rainbow filled, spectacular prism of light was not the only detail that caught my eye at this old, Victorian home.

The gardens were charming, too and made an ideal location for the wedding of the homeowners.  Both of their personalities shone through each design choice.

Especially the sentimentality and love for family that they both share.

One corner of the dining room was filled with photos of the couples’ families. This is the bride’s great grandmother.

The bracelet the bride wore was also worn in that portrait.  And her ring? It is two wedding rings from their parents melted down and recreated into this new piece by her mother, a metal smith.

Constant reminders of the pair’s love of art, are sprinkled through the house and grounds.  Paintings from professional artists who are family members and friends, collections of hand crafted coolness, and creative DYIs done in preparation for the wedding and to fix up the home.  

Their dedication to an artful life stood out to me in the small things too.  Like placing star shapes around the picnic table as a resist before power washing it, leaving a two toned, star sprinkled table afterward.

Hydrangea booms tied together into heart shapes lined the driveway.

Centerpieces were constructed of bowls of moss with figurines perched on top.

At the lovebird’s table, the moss was topped with- lovebirds.  Tiny, and subtle, but fitting in with the theme of the night.

And did I mention that she made her skirt?  It had major sparkles going on, with 3D flowers that don’t show up well in my photos, but sure did in person.

While I was busy oohing and ahhing over the multitude of great ideas, sweet details, and artwork that caught my eye, I still noticed one big thing that stood out more than anything else.

Happiness.

 It was a crowd full of people that loved Mark and Allie, people who were so happy for them. 

 

 

 

The chickens made some friends and my mushrooms went to a new home

My friend, Mindy, came by to purchase some mushrooms for her online shop, Myrtle and Mo. 

Since I believe that most occasions should be parties whenever possible, I told her to bring the kids with her for a spooky cocoa party.

Instead of having the inventory packed up in the studio, I used it as a centerpiece, and Sugarwings set the table with our Halloween themed cups and teapot.

We were ready to welcome a couple of adorable guests.

Dessert was scary cherry pies.

Their mom was a good sport about all of the sweet treats before dinner time.  We also had fruit skewered onto witch leg picks, and a cauldron full of guacamole to dip pretzels in.  So, maybe that counter acted some of the decadence.

The tarts were in silicone teacups made to bake in, lined with crust, cherry pie filling, then topped with a circle of pie dough that I cut faces into with a knife.  I added noses and eyebrows from the trimmings.

But the big hit of the party was the henhouse.

The ladies are some of the sweetest chickens we have ever had, and seemed happy with the attention.

There was plenty of snuggles to go around, and those birds got lots of attention.

Mindy went home with kids filled up with sweets, tired from chasing chickens, and a nice selection of mushrooms.

If you are one of the people who have been asking me to list schroomies in my poor, neglected boutique to sell online, uhm, you might be better off checking out my pal’s store.  I do not seem to be filling that shop up, am I?  

It’s still open, and I’m paying fees for it, although I  sure haven’t used it much this year.   But Mindy has a full shop, with a few dozen mushrooms along with her fantastic vintage goods.  

You can find her (and my velvet mushie creations) here:

https://www.myrtleandmo.com/shop-1/artist-spotlight/karla-nathan

 

 

Sometimes ya gotta break a few rules

Sugarwings and I have a strict rule. 


You can drink cocoa any time at all.  But you cannot have a cocoa party unless you sit in front of a glowing Christmas tree.

Then I saw this teapot at Homegoods, and our rule loosened up.

It inspired a Halloween themed cocoa display.

Complete with a glass cauldron to hold our spoons and rat poison additives for deliciousness. (We did not use the jar to hold any foodstuffs, it’s just for fun)

We got some skelly cups to drink our potions from.

With skelly napkins to mop up drips of blood.  I mean, chocolate.

We invited a little witch to join us.

Then added some mood lighting.

The new rule, in addition to the Christmas tree rule, is that cocoa parties can only be held with the proper ambient lighting, ghostly paraphernalia, and a scary movie on the tv.