Karla's Cottage

Springtime work for Autumn pieces

It might seem early, but if I don’t start on Halloween crafts now, and Christmas ones by mid summer, I won’t be ready.  Last year, I got a very late start, and was getting up at 5am to put in such long hours that I hardly had time to enjoy the holidays myself.

 This year, I’ll be ahead of the game!

Here is the before picture of this wedding couple.  The first picture posted is the after, with them transformed into two ghost brides wearing vintage finery.

I just wasn’t feeling the groom.  But I did like the idea of doing one bride in black.

Each have a bat charm on their bodice, curly, white angora hair, and some of my favorite, old lace.

June at Juju

When I found this landscape, I knew it had to go behind my mosaic cottages.  Even though the display was finished.  I took it apart and redid it all, not just this shelf, but the whole cabinet.  I had to distribute some of the things that had been on this shelf to the other levels so the painting wouldn’t be completely blocked.

Because I tend to layer so much that I block a lot.  Like the mirror on the wall in this photo.

What mirror?  Well the one I hung in December that no one has ever seen because it has had so much in front of it. 

Since I am a stacker, piler, and layer-er, I am careful to have most price tags prominently displayed.  People don’t have to risk causing an avalanche to get something down if it isn’t a price point they appreciate.

If I can do it, the tags are easy to find, but not right in your face.

Other times they are directly on the face.  Ha, get it?

Seriously, I try not to overcrowd, but it ends up that way anyhow.

Ceiling to floor.

Speaking of ceilings, for summer, I have added butterflies to the entrance.  They didn’t have quite enough umph, so I also hung frames around them.

My jewelry area got a makeover too.

Did I mention that I like to layer things?  This is pretty full.

By piling so much on the furniture, shoppers miss those pieces.  I’m trying to use larger tags on them to see if that helps.  I’ll have to make one for this cool chair.  I’ve had it in my breezeway for a year now, and really liked it, even though it doesn’t seem like my typical look, I thought it was cute there with a basket of rosemary on it.

Also not my style?  Red, white, and blue.

Still, I found so many, many more things I really liked in those shades, that I once again, went overboard.

My plan was to do groupings in these tones and fill a small area.  Before I knew it, I had so many pretty  items that over filled a whole wall.

Plus, I threw in bags of marbles and of buttons to coordinate and make more splashes of color.

To be honest?  I prefer neutrals with floral accents.  But- ya gotta know your crowd.  I think the shoppers there enjoy the mix.  And I really do have fun putting it all together, no matter what colors I use.

And I ended up loving the final look.  Maybe I am a red, white, and blue fan after all?

 

Patriotic and still Cottagey decor

Red, white, and blue are not typically my colors.  But this year, I wanted to play with them and use the tones with my own aesthetic. 


Vintage wallpaper is one of my favorite things, so I whipped up a few flags from it.  The large one is on foam core, the smaller ones on vintage book covers.

While I was at it, I used the scraps to make tags.

With roses, birds, and wallpaper, this color scheme made me pretty happy.

Also, I’ve always wanted to make one of these ribbon flags.  I scoured my home and studio for red ribbon and lace, to find just enough to make this one.  I thought I’d make smaller ones with the scraps, but there wasn’t much left over.  Most of the trims are vintage, a couple of the reds are not.  And the blue tulle is cut from a cute skirt that Sugarwings wore as a little kid.  

The hanger is not a part of it, that is behind the piece.  Sorry, should’ve hung it elsewhere for the photo.  The ribbons are tied to nails pounded into a branch.  I’m going to put a dot of glue on each knot to keep them in place.

This was such a fun project, I’d love to make another, but do not want to use brand new red ribbons.  I might dye some vintage lace and use that.  A soft, faded red would be nice, this a bit bright for me.

All of this stuff will be at Good Juju for First Fridays in June.  I’ll show you some pictures once I get it all set up.

 

 

Missing our boy

Today marks three years since Ryan’s death  and the last bloom is on the iris he planted for me.  The first bloom came on Mothers Day this year.

The rose he surprised me with on a Mother’s Day is starting to bloom now.

And so is one gifted to us after he died.

These reminders mean so much more to me than a tombstone at a cemetery.  We have sunset maple at a nearby arboretum and an oak tree planted for him in our yard too.

 The oak still looks like a short bush, it hasn’t grown at all in three years.  Rich wants to replace it, but it seems fitting to me.  Ryan was a late bloomer himself.  

There was wine in the teacups

Last Tuesday evening, I hosted a Mother’s Day tea party.  A friend recently lost her MIL, then right before the holiday, her own mom passed unexpectedly.  As I planned a get together for her I realized that none of the guests’ moms were still alive.

I thought we should honor all of the lost mothers and asked for photos of the ladies.

Then I picked some flowers from my yard to tuck into tussie mussies.

The plan was to sit outside by the fire and order pizza.

But I wanted a real tea party style gathering, so I made food instead and set it out on the table with the pretty dishes.

This tiered stand from Hobby Lobby, years ago (they still have them) always comes in handy.  On a daily basis, it holds fruit, but when company comes, the fruit goes in a bowl and this is used for serving food.

Earlier this month, I found a metal lamp base on a flea market dollar table.  It made an ideal holder for a stack of salad plates.  

My table is oak, and not the look I wanted for a spring, flowery party.  But it’s also huge, and I don’t have tablecloths to fit it.  So, I covered it in a painter’s drop cloth and layered these rosey placemats (50 cents from a garage sale this week) on top.

Focaccia bread isn’t exactly a tea party staple, but I baked it to look like a flower garden.

And how lucky were we to get a perfect spring evening? Just cool enough for a fire, but not so chilly that we’re had to be close to the fire for warmth.  It was more for atmosphere.

The table was a generous and exceptional hand me down from my sis, Terry.  And oh my.  It is a dragon mosaic made from genuine stones and can feature either a fire or umbrella in the center.

We just love it.  I call it my fire breathing dragon table.

And I love my friends.  I’m glad we had a night together to honor our moms and to sip wine from teacups.  
I think I’ll make this a tradition.  You are never too old to miss your mommy.

Inside the cabinets I just repainted

While cleaning and repainting my kitchen cabinets, I did mini redoes on the displays inside.

Three of them have glass doors.  The very top shelves were where I kept pretty things rarely used.  
That stuff had been up there for…well, a bit.

It all needed a dusting even though it was behind glass.  And I came across things I didn’t even remember owning.  Those got pulled out and will go to my booth to sell.  Because if they hadn’t been touched in a decade, why do I need them?

My pretties got a little bit of a shuffle, a wiping, then a thinning out.

Except for these. Oh, yes, they got a cleaning off, but that’s it, then they went right back on display with no changes.

 This is a partial set from my mom’s dishes.  When she died, the whole set went to my Sissy, who shared them with Bobbie Sue and I.  We each got two place settings.

All of the cabinets still look plenty full, even with the pruning I did.  And I have more inventory  to haul into Good Juju.  Although, rose pattern china doesn’t seem to be a big draw there.  I try to balance my foofy pretties with some more rustic items for that venue.  

I’m liking that sort of combo in my house too.

See what I mean? This is on my mantel.  Since we added the hearth room with the dark floors and stone wall, I’m using a lot more natural type elements and darker colors.  I’m still all about the Light and Bright with roses, but I like the cabiney-cottagey feel too.