Karla's Cottage

Beth, Birdies, Bertie, and a bit of weirdness

Yesterday was a Sugarwings Day.  She is still feeling cuddly and quiet from her flu bug, so she wanted just to be held or to be pushed in her new ($3 from a garage sale) car.

While she was napping, I decided to surprise her by making her new car  a bit more fitting for someone as special as she is.

I primed it, spray painted it pink, then dumped two vials of glitter all over the wet paint and covered that with a spray of clear coat.

I wish the glitter showed in the photo, because it really shines in the sun.  Sugarwings might need some sunglasses when she rides in her pink convertible.

By the way, this is what I am using as a stroller. We go for long walks up and down the sidewalks and to the park in it.  So much more interesting than most strollers, and the handles come off so I can put it in my car if we go somewhere.

Today was a Beth day.  I went to her house and we crafted the afternoon away. Why is it so much more fun to dig through someone else's bags and boxes of supplies than your own?

We both had new goods to work with, she'd gotten a tin full of broken jewelry at an estate sale and I had a stack of some of the prettiest paper ever from Heather.  She and I did a mini swap of vintage wall papers.

This blue rose paper is one from Heather and the rhinestone posy shaped button is from Beth's tin of sparkly bits and pieces.

Beth also had a drawer full of different wooden shapes, and she shared this birdie with me.  And yep, the eye is from her stash of sparklies too. Plus- she gave me a baggie full of them to take home!

Beth had a page of Victorian bird pictures she had reduced and copied, so I was full speed into the bird theme today. I also was trying out her "Stickles" and decided that it was a product I won't be able to do with out.

I used the burgundy Stickles ( a brand of glitter glue that has a very fine glitter in it, comes in many colors, and flows easliy from the bottle) to outline some of the flowers in the old wallpaper (from Heather) and the oval cut out of the bird (from Beth).

I also drew extra vines, leaves, and swirls with Gelly Roll Stardust pens.  Another product that will always be on my desk!

The Stardust pens are what I used to outline flowers and leaves, then smudge it slightly for a subtle glittery look. (A trick I learned from Sissy)

Another new favorite is this genuine sliver glitter from Heather.  She sells it in her shop and you HAVE to try it. Especially if you use it with yet ANOTHER  new favorite of mine- a ball point pen that has glue instead of ink! I'd seen glue pens before, but these (from Michaels) have such a fine line and great control of where the glue goes, I just am crazy about them.

So do you have your shopping list of must haves for collage and scrap booking??

1. Stardust Gelly Roll pens (clear is the BEST)

2. Stickles

3. Ball point pen with glue instead of ink

4. Genuine silver dust glitter from Heather at Pretty Petals

These are my new "Can't do with out 'ems" when I need to make something sparkle. And I always need to make stuff sparkle!

Here is what Beth made today.  We might have gotten more done if we weren't laughing so hard all day. For some reason, every sentence seemed to strike a funny bone.

Not a bad way to spend a day, laughing and gluing glitter on vintage wallpaper. Oh- and going out to lunch at Pei-Wei (a chain owned by PF Chang and just as good but half the price!)

Here is more of what Beth made today, she isn't quite done with them, but I took the picture anyway, they look good to me.

Also, I have been tagged by Jennifer (Queen of the Ravens) to list 7 weird things about myself.  Well, I've played this game before, twice, but I think I have plenty of weird to spare. Here are a couple at least.

1- This is embarrassing but true, and I did go back to finish later and jeez, I don't know why I'd even tell anyone this- but I am a high school drop out.  I'm not stupid, I was an A student, I wasn't a loser or a druggie or anything like that, it was just family difficulties and I was a tad bit homeless at the time.

2- I am a serial renovator. I can't stop.  When we bought this old farmhouse, it was 800 sq feet.   It is now almost 5,000.  We just add and add and add.

3- I am a serial painter too.  My living room gets repainted at least twice a year.  Maybe more.  Maybe twice a week if I feel like I need to. When I had an antique booth, I'd paint it every couple of months. Other rooms last longer in their colors, the living room seems to be my main target.

4- I sing and make up rhymes all day long and am completely tone deaf, but I don't let that stop me.  Sugarwings and the dorkies think it is pretty cool but the rest of the world finds me irritating.

5- I keep a file of co-incidences. Such as two days after this puppy, Bertie, died, I made a tie dye tee shirt that was supposed to be a butterfly, but it turned out to look like her portrait.

Anytime something odd or cute or coincidental happens, I make a note of it.  I call it my Co-Inky Dinks  and Odd Occurances file.

Like this picture of the sky over my cottage the day Sugarwings was born- this cloud is shaped like Sparkle, my dorky!!!

5- I have developed an addiction to vintage wallpaper.

A serious, dangerous addiction that can't be stopped.

6- I once had a mural job that paid me $2,000 in one day.  I paint fast, and usually try to make the job last longer so the person who hired me doesn't feel like he got a bad deal.  But sometimes, I can't help myself, I zip through the work so fast, I get done too early.  I've painted a 20' x 60' mural in 2 days, thats probably my speed record. 

Here is are a couple photos of part of it, its a big 'un.

7- I once broke my back. I fell off (was not thrown, that would be a better story) a pony -not a horse -  a pony we bought from a church camp. A kid's pony.  I just was careless, slid off (it wasn't very far to the ground either) and landed wrong. I broke 2 vertebrae and was in bad shape for years.  Lots of surgeries, etc.  I do exercises and keep limber or the arthritis in my back will cripple me up again. 

8- bonus weird item- I don't embarrass! (and I don't know when to shut up)  You can tell by the fact that I wrote all of this!!!!

I will do the drawing for September's prize Sunday night.  Thanks everyone for leaving comments, I appreciate it.  Also, I am taking suggestions for October's prize.

Some more LOVE

This week has been a lovely party week, with sharing our homes on Tuesday,then the creative and glorious ball on Wednesday.

But today, caring bloggers are getting together to support Amy from 4 Sisters in  a Cottage and her brave struggles with breast cancer.. If you are interested in saying a kind word of encouragement to Amy, go over  Mary to find out more.

I thought I'd show a few more pictures of what I LOVE about my home.

When Sugarwing's Dad moved out on his own, we ripped out his bedroom, used half of it as a large master closet/laundry room and the other half as a master bath.

A private laundry room in your bedroom closet is a great idea for an empty nester couple.  We filled the room with shelves and baskets, so  that the clothes went straight from the dryer to the shelf , no baskets- no hauling- so simple.

Then, of course, we had the kids move back in. And out, and then in again.  And a niece stayed with us for 8 months.  Our laundry room and the bedroom leading to it, became grand central station!

But it works out, and I still LOVE that we remodeled and added this area.  I'm not showing you a picture of my closet, because it hasn't been tidy since the day it was built.  But hey, its a closet! I shut the door and don't care.

These cabinets used to be plain, and are meant to be for guns.

I added trim (me and my saw and nail gun!) to make them look built in and we actually designed the size of the room to fit them.  We were a couple of inches off- you can see to the right side. Oh well, with the walls dark, it seems OK.

I cut these pieces to fit around the door too.   They are from Home Depot and are made of a Styrofoam, and can easily be cut by an amateur like me.  They sell all sorts of trim pieces to mix and match and use to foof up your home. I'd say I spent about $100 on what I used for this door.

I found the rose tile at a carpet and tile warehouse clearance center. It still wasn't dirt cheap ($190), but it adds so much to the room. By using an accent tile around the tub, I could go with a generic tile on the floor. It was from the same clearance center for 99 cents a tile.

The sconce is from an auction and was $15.

I'm thinking about painting the sink cabinet. I don't have much natural wood in my house and even though it works well here, my paint brush fingers are getting itchy every time I walk by it.

To make a round tub fit into the rectangular box it needed to go into, I came up with this mosaic. There were two of these little square tiles left and the person at the store just gave them to me.  One is a rose, the other is a bundle of wheat (for Kansas!). 

I used the decorative tiles on the front two corners of the tub, the back is a simple mosaic of the small pieces of travertine that are used as background for the decorative tile mosaic.

This iron table is from a garage sale for $22. I loved it because it has a shelf to put books and magazines on while I soak in the tub.

Three colors of white and tan were used to paint the cabinets and give them an aged look.  I added these wooden embellishments and tied keys on the handles with sheer ribbon.

The chair was free.  No one bought it at a sale and it was about to be thrown out!  The fabric is frayed on the top, but I don't care one bit.  The fabric underneath seems every bit as pretty, but I love the cabbage roses so much, I won't let myself be tempted to pull it off and see.

I lined the back of the shelves with sheet music.

And yes, I know, I spelled cotten wrong on the jar!

I made my Grandma Downey's old floor lamp into a towel/robe hook, since there was no convenient spot for a towel bar. 

I tried to use pretty containers for the practical things needed to be stored in the room.

Well, I'm off to get Sugarwings for the day! This makes the 4th day I have baby sat her this week, if you are wondering why I have no "new" projects to show you.  Did I mention she has had a flu bug all week? Poor baby. She has needed lots of cuddles.

Don't forget to enter the drawing (details on the last posting)

Waste not want not, and some shameless self promotion and begging, with a bribe thrown in

The after party let down hasn't hit me yet, I am still enjoying all the after party glow!

Maybe since there are no dishes wash or cans to gather up or floors to mop, I won't experience the crash that usually happens to me after everyone is gone home after a fun little bash!

Do you recognize anything here on these tags?

I simply can't let anything go to waste!

I cut up my hand painted party invitation and made it into tags with some of my wallpaper stash.

(PS- thanks to all of you who are buying up my Etsy wallpaper Cottage Collage Kits, I know you will LOVE working with these papers!!!)

I was in an aqua mood, but I did use  pink velvet for a couple of the ties.

These papers are quite an addiction for me, I found such great colors, the pinks are faded out to just the perfect shade.

I really should be painting, I have a big holiday sale coming up and I don't even know if my typical crowd cares about wallpaper or tags, or paper doll dresses- they come to my sales expecting jewelry, hand painted things and lots of vintage pretties.

I could end up with a room full of paper goods and puzzled customers who wonder why they came!

I tend to get carried away with new ideas. Like- why did I buy a ton of these albums (with great hand made paper pages inside!!) to doo dad up like this, BEFORE doing one or two to see if anyone would even want one??

I just love them though, and will get  alot of joy from covering them in wallpapers and old millinery flowers, jewels, tags, trims, and all the fun goodies I have to play with in my studio!

• 1-I glued down the full page of wall paper

2-I cut a medallion out of an old page with scalloped scissors

3- drew on the medallion with black gel pen and gold paint pen

4-added a smaller oval of rose themed wallpaper

5-rimmed the oval with gold glitter glue

6-rubbed a crackle glaze over the roses

7-garnished it all off with ribbon, a tiny posy and some vintage rhinestones and tied on a tag with one of my cut up hand painted roses from the invitation on it

The back is plain wallpaper, and the inside will get decked out too, I think I'll make it into a book that anyone can simply add their own photos to.

How can I not keep playing with this old wallpaper??? It is too beautiful and fun to work with for me to stop even though I am about up to my neck in paper dolls, tags, covered boxes, albums, etc. I am nothing, if not prolific!

My drawing winners yesterday were Paula Kay and Cindy. Now, what are the odds that there are TWO Paulas?? One is Paula K.!

I am sending Paula #2 these cards I made up for her last night. She ends her emails with a cute quote, something about a hand made card is a hug with a fold in it.  So, I thought, maybe this girl likes hand made cards!!

Here are a couple of folded up hugs coming her way today. Sorry about the mix up, Paula Kay and Paula K.!

Paula #1 gets this small painting and a magazine.

I think I might have some new readers from this party and wanted to let you know that I have a giveaway once a month, plus some extra goodies here and there too. 

All you do is leave a comment and you are entered (every time).  This month's prize is the same as last month, a Cottage Collage Kit or a piece of art I have made from one of the kits.

My new friend, Cindy was the other winner for the magazine drawing from the party.  I made a tag for her with some of the roses from the invitation and her name on water color paper I had added a pink wash to. (and my vintage wallpaper of course!!)

She asked me to sign the magazine and that just felt weird to me.  People don't ask me to sign things?!?!  I added part of the party invitation to the page my pictures were on.  That felt like more of a memento from the party. 

I am not sure when my next article is out, either the December issue of Romantic Country or the one after. It is all turned in with the text and photos. I can't show you the pictures, but can give you a tease with this slice of one.

And I have a big favor to ask.  If anyone saw the article I wrote and enjoyed it, could you please let the editor know?  A quick little note to her might mean me getting more articles to write, and hey, that means more parties for us!!! Thanks!

address:

Phyllis Goldstein

Romantic Country

c/o Harris Publications

1115 Broadway

NY, NY   10010

Heck, you've seen me give presents to receive comments, you know I love to bribe you for your visits here! If anyone gets a letter to the editor published in Romantic Country, just see what present I will send you as a thank you!!!!!!!

And the Party Goes ON!

I want to thank everyone who participated in the "Romantic Country- what do you LOVE about your home?" party!!  And everyone who came to visit me and who party hopped around blogland to check in on the party locations too.

I have 2 winners for an issue of a magazine, one will go to a reader, the other to a blogger.

And they are:

Cindy and Paula Kay!!

Please contact me with your address and I'll get the magazines into the mail (as soon as the editor sends me the bundle of copies, should be soon). Remember I said I would have a surprise for the winner who was a non-blogger? Here is a small autumn leaf watercolor I have done. Hope you like it, Paula!

I do think that this subject is dear to all of our hearts, we all love our homes. Would you like to have a "What do you LOVE about your Holiday Home?" party in December? I have another Romantic Country article due out about then----more celebrating!!!

Don't forget you can still enter the Sept. drawing for a giveaway choice of a Cottage Collage kit with vintage wallpaper, or a hand made item from one of my kits!

Today I had a real life party, here at the cottage.  A few good friends came by for muffins and yogurt and coffee.

I made the muffins with applesauce instead of oils and added lots of healthy extras like walnuts, raisins, flax seed, whole wheat flour, etc. They really were good and gooey and moist. (and I had cream cheese icing on the side in case the muffins were too healthy)

We had 3 kinds, Carrot Cake, Chocolate Zucchini, and Blueberry-Cranberry.  Wish I could throw a real life party to meet all of you!

But I will be seeing Silver Bellas soon in Omaha.

Remember when I told you that Monday was the Bloglandia Ball? Well, now I am telling you that is TODAY again. And this time I am right!

(I have more gowns posted on the earlier entry fomr two days ago)

You can visit the ball here. Please do, you'll enjoy it!

Also, I will keep adding links to our What do You LOVE about your Home party for the rest of the day. There seems to still be a lot of interest in it and I'd hate to leave anyone out.

Thanks again for coming to see me and my friends!

What do you LOVE about your Home?? And a kitchen evolution.

t Welcome to the Romantic Country Party!  You are all invited to show or tell us what you LOVE about your home.

If you are a fellow blogger, leave a comment to tell me you have posted pictures or stories about what you LOVE about your own home. I will add links throughout the day Tuesday so we can all visit each of the party sites.

If you are a reader, please share stories of what you LOVE about your home in the comment section too.  I will be drawing  names of a blogger and of a blog-supporter for prizes to be given out on Wednesday.

What do I LOVE about my home?

It makes me smile to have an eclectic mix and a never ending, always changing menagerie of possessions.  To find bargains at thrifts, garage sales, auctions, in dumpsters, places where I can spy a diamond in the rough.

This photo of my gazebo was in Victorian Country a few years ago and you can see from it, that I like to use pieces that go together, but that aren't matching sets. 

Right now, some rooms from my home are in Romantic Country along with a short article I have written.

Here is the kitchen scanned from the  magazine.

I like to redecorate, but they have gone even further and completely renovated and given me a mirror image of my actual space!  How fun is that??  Perfect for me, I  love changes and with this one, I didn't have to do a thing!!  

To give you an idea of some of the changes my kitchen has been through, here are some older magazine shots.These have all been taken by Bill Mathews and styled by Gloria Gale for Harris Publications (Country Victorian and Country Almanac).

This one was taken by Diane Guthrie for a local magazine. She took this after we replaced the original farm house cabinets with new ones my son custom built for us.

I repainted a bit since then, this is the latest incarnation.

And from the other angle.

When we remodeled, I saved money by repainting my old fridge to match the cabinets, in the same paint and glaze I used on them (oil based french vanilla color with a mocha glaze)

One small addition to the kitchen was made this weekend, I found a toy stove/fridge for Sugarwings at a garage sale for $1.  Now she can help me fix dinner.

If you are new to my blog, (as I know a lot of the party crowd is), you'll see I tend to run on and on and my posts can be long winded.

I'm afraid this one will be a record breaker by the time I add all the party invitations to other blogs!

I look forward to visiting each and every one of the listed parties, and hope everyone else enjoys mingling and party hopping too.

I'll check throughout the day and add links as I receive them.  If you don't see yourself listed, please email me and let me know I have missed you!

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR HOME?

PARTY LINKS:

My buddy Beth has already started and is showing some of her art as well as her great junk hunting loot.

Here is a taste of what she has to show. Also, she is my tech adviser, every time I have issues with my lack of computer skills. She is also great with adjectives and lists, so offered some advice on party invitations.  Here are some she sent to me:

Take a gander at Beth's beautiful home
Feast your eyes on Beth's beautiful home
Ogle Beth's beautiful home
Behold Beth's beautiful home
Check out Beth's beautiful home
Wander on over to Beth's beautiful home
Follow the path to Beth's beautiful home
Hop on over to Beth's beautiful home

Actually, she meant for me to sub other names in, but I couldn't resist posting it like this, it is cute!!

Jessica of Wild Rose Stamper, has a rosy room to show us and instructions for making a tussie mussie.

Yellow Rose Arbor has a gorgeous swag that she has made for her romantic bedroom, and scroll down to see all the yellow roses!

Becca always has beautiful things to show us and her party pictures are no exception!

Stephanie has a unique green mirror that makes me drool and turn green with envy.

Rachael from the other side of the world has gotten a jump start on us and is opening the champagne!

Katrina is hosting her party from her warm and wonderful kitchen.

Jennifer has some of the sweetest eye candy around! Look at this baby girl's shadow box- wow!!!

There is a rosy glow in the sky over the party at Betty's house.

Clarice is sharing Autumn Bliss with us at the Story Book Woods.

Jennifer's old painted cottage is on the cover of this issue of Romantic Country!

And Kari's artwork can be seen on page 70.  This issue has the blogworld well represented!

Our Bejeweld friend is sipping hot cocoa on her new patio and is waiting for you to join her.

Sherri has her guest room done up in the prettiest pink ready for a grandbaby to come and stay over.

Something old, something new is on show at Corinna's home.

All the way over in Sweden, Linnea-Maria is sharing what she loves about her home.  Her blog is in Swedish, but she has left a comment on my blog in English to explain.

Kitty is throwing some light on the subject of what she loves in her home.

Joy has the welcome mat out for us.

Ginny has invited us over seas to England!

Jennifer has a montage to show us what she loves at her home.

While you are out globe hopping, drop in to visit Aukje.

And who doesn't LOVE everything about Kim's Daisy Cottage?

Julie has invited us to visit her too.

Jennalee is ready for guests at her lovely home.

Terri has a family heirloom to share, and if you scroll down, there is some home made bread that I am sure she'll offer a slice of!

Rosie has a wonderful porch for us to sit and relax on.

Felicia has invited some cute little friends over to enjoy the party with us.

There are Super Heros to visit at Meg's.

When you visit Louisa's party, make sure you scroll down to see her water color roses from a previous post too!

Isabella's cozy cottage is somewhere you'll want to linger for a while.

Susan's home is all decked out in cheerful fall colors for her guests.

suzy has gorgeous pictures of her home ready to share. (this one was re-done later, it had not been a connecting link earlier, please go back to visit her, you'll love her place!)

Karen has the air filled with the scent of pumpkin spice at her party.

I love Tami's mantles too, and so will you.

Crystal has stories of what she loves about her old farmhouse.  Scroll down to see some tiny little people who are showing off what they love about thier cute cottages too!

Cindy has a fantastic studio (wish mine was that tidy!) with a beautiful faux treatment on the walls.

Karla was one of my first blogging friends.  She is always a wonderful person to visit with and she has invited us all over for espresso and home made bread.  Check out the gorgeous blue of her walls while you are there.

Natasha has asked us all to come to Australia to see her romantic cottage, and to help her celebrate her 100th post, coming up very soon.

Debra is all decked out for Halloween at her place, and she is the master of that holiday (hence the "boo" in her blog title)

Phyllis has invited us over to enjoy the sunset and sit back in some cool old twig furniture.

Look what came in the mail yesterday from Phyllis- a section of old greeting cards and crafting papers. Thanks, buddy.

My good friend, Heather is making me just way too jealous with the photos of her house. I might not be able to be her friend anymore.

Pattie has been out thrifting and has new finds to show us.

Brenda asks us to join her in her vintage country kitchen.

Julia shows us what she loves about her home in a collage.

A fellow Silver Bella, Natalea, is offering us views of the lake outside and  some lush and rich color and textures inside her home. Plus an invitatioin to play the "Name Game". I love to play those silly tag games, and have already done this one at the end of this posting, but my middle name is JO, so it was a short one!!

Catiean has the most amazing wall treatment, you have to see these!

http://violetladyathome.blogspot.com/ has her favorites on display for us.

I have another Silver Bella coming to the party- Jessi has her house decked out for the holidays!

Home is Where the Heart is among the sweet little rose buds at Barbara's

Blanc and Daisy have invited us over to visit.

Who could resist dipping into the fairy dust over at The Glitter Fairy's

Studio???

Cathy has a green thumb and a set of kitchen cabinets that are making me turn green with envy again.  I swear, all these homes are just making me so jealous.

Another featured home in Romantic Country for this issue belongs to Dawn.  This issue is filled with bloggers!  (Her photo is on page 71, near Kari's on page 70)

Bethany has a collage of pictures to show us, and make sure you look through her blog at some of her artwork! I love her sketches, here is one she did of my little sweety, Twinkle.

Mary Allison has given us a peek into "the Kingdom".  I just want to steal that name for my studio now too!!!

Angelina has a piece from one of my favorite artists, Holly, on her site. As well as some of her favortie holiday decor.

Elizabeth is up at night dreaming about paint colors. ( I know what that is like! When the paint chip fairy comes to visit, you just give up and start looking through colors, YOU MUST REPAINT)

Michelle has some favorites highlighted in her home for us today.

With a name like Flea Market Queen, you know she'll have good stuff to show us!

Our friend, Marie Elena has wonderful style and lots of talent that she has put to use remodeling her Chilean home.

June not only invited us to see what she loves about her home, but gives us a list of resources to help find what we need for decorating our own homes!

Stacy has invited us to see the magic in her home.

More globe trotting! Time to experiance autumn in Germany with Regina

Vintage Flair has some romantic and sentimental photos to share, and don't miss the very last one, with the old wallpaper and trims. She has made a lovely display!

Becky has a beautiful home and I am crazy about the little green dresser she has as part of a table scape. Be sure to read both of her posts today, Blogspot only allows 5 pictures per post so she had to post twice. Stingy Blogspot!

Wanda is bidding a farewell to summer with photos of her swimming pool and lovely garden spots.  Plus look at how dramatic the red wall is!

Lolly shares her therory on "more is more" which is mine too!

We have unique aquarium pets and one of my favorite sofas, ever at Vickie's

Debbie has invited a collection of furry freinds to stay in her cozy room for her grandsons.

Cindy has taken a fantastic photo of her lavender room reflected in the mirror, you have to see it.

Kelley has hired a cherub to serve us crystals as party favors in her newly done dining room.

The lovely Ele is inviting us to her lovely dining room.

Melissa just found out about the party and will be posting some home pictures soon. In the meantime, you can click on "home" on her site to see some of what she loves.

You can see the love that goes into all details of Mary's life when you visit her place!

Sharon, another Silver Bella, has some of her pretty mosaic goods on display for us to see.

Mary is joining our party, and has such a warm and welcoming home!

Kim is moving and has shown us what she will be missing when she leaves this home, scroll down past the Sinister crafts to see it!

Jenn has a pretty pink kitchen to share

And The Queen has a lovely wreath on the door to welcome us.

Vanessa Valencia the Fanciest of Them All always has her place filled with fun, magic, and exciting happenings.  Have you ever been to see her?  If you go once, you'll never want to leave her fanciful world.

Andie has a blue and white treat for us.

Lisa really does have a thing for roses, just like the title of her blog says!

Katie has whipped up some fall baking for us to snack on.

You'll have to visit the whimsical delight that is at Cherry's

Kristi has some lovely textiles in her kitchen.

Romantic Homes, the competitor of Romantic Country magazine (that inspired our party),, has featured this unbelievably beautiful house, not once, but twice!  You have to visit Jennifer to see for yourself.

Andrea has not only shown us her own home, but a cute little red house for her birdie friends!

Everyone's friend, Carole has joined in on the party and has some hula dancing entertainment for us and craft supplies out for us to make some pretty things with her!

the Contessa is inviting us to join her at the tea table she has all set up.

Heidi has gifts from fellow blogger friends to show us.  Aren't the gifts we get from all the generous people out there, so thoughtful???

Watch out, Amy's decor could put a spell on you!

Barbara, my birthday twinner, has a hand stitched sentiment to share.

Any time you go to visit Jody you see all the love that goes into her life and her family.

Sara has a striking home in black and white you can't miss.

Michelle has an old farm house that is a work in progress (as most farmhouses are, I know mine is!) That garden and porch are so inviting.  After a long day of trying to list all these blogs and not mess up the links (only a couple needed tweaking!!) I'm ready to go and visit Michelle and relax on that wicker seat.

Jen has started a blog and today is her very first post, so this party is a bit of a house warming for her!  Please drop in and welcome her to the blog community so she'll see first hand what a friendly bunch she is joining!

Britt has things sparkling at her place!

Romance is in the air at this romantic cottage of Linda's

Heather has invited us to visit her home and meet a dainty little witch.

Nature Girl finds joy in spending time in her gardens.

Thank you all so much for joining in this party today! I've had a wonderful time mingling, meeting new friends, and seeing the creative and loving touches you have added to your homes.

I think that this subject is a meaningful one for many of us and I have been asked to host more parties like this in the future.  How about a "What do you LOVE about your Holiday Home?" Mid December?

Sugarwings and I are all partied out at this point and we need to call it a night!

THANKS!!!!!!!

Wednesday morning note- I think I went to bed too early, sorry I missed some of you! but hey, I am a Granny!  I can't stay up all night partying like I used to years ago.  I am going to add the rest of the emails I got after I went off to my pillow at 11pm last night:

Lorraine's cottage is celebrating its new floors.

Fairies dance across the mantle at Gayla's

Dana has some amazing flea market deals in her beautiful cottage

Shabby Chic treasure and pretty pastels at on view at Joy's

And Cerris is one of my very favorite places to go on Etsy, her home is just as wonderful!!

You just have to go across the pond to see Mary!!!! You'll be glad you visited

Erin has a thing for red and you will see why. Her cottage is such a cheerful place!

Come out into the yard and play at Jeanne's

Sophie's home is an absolutely can't miss!

Check out the painted geraniums on the wall at seeb's

Joy talks about her love of autumn and her 'joy' of preparing for the holidays.

Cindy is shabby-chic-a-riffic!!  She is late getting to the party, but sometimes it is good to save some sweets for later, isn't it?

Cheryl loves the beautiful, Canadian countryside where she lives. 

Don't we all love to visit Holly??

And Lidy has autumn decorating tips for us all.

The party is just getting started at Gayla's

Kathee doesn't have a blog but has posted home pictures on Photo Bucket for us.

More updates- a few days later- Dayami has been scouting out pretty white serving pieces to serve goodies by her pool!

Romance and Ballgowns- Time to Party!

Today is the Bloglandia Ball and I am all ready for it, with garlands of paper doll dress ball gowns.

Since I am gearing up for a Christmas photo shoot (any minute now, I am writing while I wait for the photographer) I decided to show some Holiday Ball Gowns.

The gowns are all made from vintage wallpapers and trims.

And of course some Glitter for a bit of festive flair!

This one is the one I would chose to wear myself, if I were fairy sized. They say horizontal stripes are not flattering, but if I was that tiny, it shouldn't matter.

Here is a real fairy who is coming to the ball, all decked out in a rose petal dress, and some pink highlights in her hair for the occasion.

This teeny tiny fairy has a glittering gown of white. 

I've added glitter to a vintage bride cake topper doll and placed her in a foofed up peat pot to hang on the tree.

I hope to get around and visit all the balls in blogland today after my photographer is done. 

And I hope everyone is keeping their party spirits going and will be back tomorrow for our Romantic Country Party here at the cottage.

What to do? Post a photo of What you LOVE about your own home. Then leave me a comment and I will add you to our list of links to all the party goers.

If you don't have a blog, please leave us a comment about what you LOVE at your home and you'll be entered for a drawing for a copy of this issue of Romantic Country (plus a surprise little present from me) 

And what do I LOVE  about my home today?

I am thrilled to have entertainment centers to put the TVs in! I used to have them sitting out and hated it.  It is so nice to shut the doors on those ugly things.(ugly but beloved - I AM A TV ADDICT AND WILL ADMIT IT TO ANYONE!! I can't get enough of it)

This one was tan, I lightly sanded it, white washed it, then added some little rose buds and changed the knobs, all the day it was delivered from the furniture store.

I couldn't stand to have anything so brand new looking and generic in my house!!

This one was painted white and distressed the day it was delivered too.  I don't buy much in the way of "new" stuff from furniture stores, but it is really hard to find antiques sturdy enough to hold a heavy TV and also be the right size and shape.

Another thing in my house that was "new" is this bathroom vanity. It was a cheapo builder's grade one that we put in when we remodeled the first time, 17 years ago. When we added granite counter tops to our kitchen 4 years ago, the contractor cut them wrong and I got to keep the mistakes, and had part of it made into a top for this vanity, for the cost of having it re-cut only.

I doctored  up the cabinet to look older with glazes and paint, added embellishments and painted those to match.

The mirrored handles are from the clearance basket at Anthropology.  They have the coolest hardware and the best prices, if you wait for the sales.

Enjoy the ball today!  Hope to see you (and photos or stories of your homes) tomorrow.

EDIT- I am wrong!!!!!!!!The ball is Wednesday.  What is wrong with me?? I hope I have the right day for the photographer today. I could be sitting and waiting all day and he'll come next Monday.

Some Captured Spirits and a Rockin Date

Aren't these guys cute?  They are part of my Garage Sailing treasures from Saturday.  Adorable little vintage clothes pin people (and pets)!

I tried to list some on Etsy today and I kept getting booted off the site, mid-listing.  Sometimes that happens to me on Etsy, I don't know why. It certainly is irritating.

But can't you just see these little clothes pin people used in all sorts of craft projects?

What do I love about my home today? My best deal from Garage Sailing --- this new set up for my studio porch. 

Two vintage black wicker rockers (with fall colored pillows) for $50.

My husband and I like to sit on the porch with coffee and newspapers in the morning (we both work at home and can take our time relaxing when we get up, how lucky is that???).  Now we have romantic matching  rockers for our 8am dates on the porch. 

This ghost cage was at the same garage sale for $2.50.  I filled it with spirits as a little break from all the Christmas decor I am in the middle of right now for the magazine pictures tomorrow.

The ghosts are cut from that soft foamy type kid-craft paper, simple, quick to do and 79 cents.

I am thinking about painting my front doors Robins Egg Blue and adding some hydrangeas to the roses I have painted on the shutters.  (Like I have nothing else to do.)   Wouldn't that be a pretty update for my white cottage with black trim?

Here is the 'Wheres Waldo' Wreath that was hidden in last night's photo in case you couldn't find it in the middle of the pile of 25 cent garage sale flowers!

Well, durn, this is a bit blurry, isn't it? I think that my camera does better in the day light than in in the evening.

I painted another dozen ornaments today,then had a mini family reunion  and made a big pot of chicken tortellini soup for dinner.

Tomorrow is the Bloglandia Ball, and I have ball gowns made up and am ready to celebrate.

Then, Tuesday is our Romantic Country Party, here at the Cottage. 

With all the family get togethers this week, and all the blog parties, I am feeling like quite the social butterfly!  Hope you all come by to join in the party on Tuesday, and remember I will be giving away 2 copies of Romantic Country, plus each comment is an entry to my Sept. Giveaway Drawing.

Its 3am and little old ladies like me should be tucked in and sleeping

I was pleased to see that Romantic Country is out on the stands and this issue of the magazine is just beautiful!

There are a few fellow bloggers featured and they will be joining in on the party Tuesday.  Come by to meet them and see more of their homes!!

Here is my favorite page!

The photos of my home are from almost 2 years ago and nothing looks the same now.  My living room has been through 3 changes since then and I am planning another soon.

But the biggest change was done by the photo editors at the magazine,thanks to them, my kitchen has a completely new floor plan.  It's been fun to show the pictures to people today and ask what is wrong with the kitchen. They all stare a few minutes, then yell- "Its backwards!"  Looks like the editors must have cropped a couple of photos together and then flipped them so it is a mirror image of the actual room. Really, it looks pretty cool, it makes me feel like I have gone through the looking glass.

If my photos seem a bit blurry today, it is because I am blurry myself.  My SIL is visiting and we have had a whirlwind day, starting with garage sailing at 7am. It is almost 3am and I am working in my studio now, still decorating for my magazine shoot on Monday. 

Here is a detail of a painting I did on glass to make a sign out of an old cabinet door.

Oh, no, this one is extra blurry. Or am I just too tired to tell the difference? Maybe it is clear  and I am the one messed up.

We made paper doll dresses tonight, I finished a garland of them for over the window in my studio.

This little dress is made from some cute old wallpaper.

I've been scooping up wallpaper like crazy, and so has Beth. We decided to share our finds with each other, and she brought me these pieces the other day.

Beth and I are in a mini swap of paper doll dresses with Debra and with Betty.

Debra sent a wonderful Halloween assortment to me.

And Betty sent some sweeties.

If you'd like to see all of the swap, you can check out our flickr page HERE

These are something different that I made tonight. I hate to waste anything. So when a stained glass lamp broke, I took it apart and turned it into sun catchers.

I cut each section out with scissors, took out the glass, tied a chandelier prism in the opening and added a bow.  These could look good on Christmas trees too.

Another 2am project was making a wreath. It is hiding in this "Wheres Waldo" style photo of a pile of silk flowers I bought today at a salesman sample garage sail. 

Think I got enough flowers???? They were a quarter a stem and were such nice ones.  I bought $17 worth, how ever many that is!

If I am able to get out of bed tomorrow, I'll show more garage sale finds. A granny like me should not be up for more than 20 hours straight!! I'm way too old for these kind of hours.  Good night!!

Tranquility

Christmas is still under construction here at the cottage.  Almost there....

Today, I made a few hand painted ornaments while the baby played with her Aunt Sandy and her Pop Pop.

I didn't do as many as I would've liked, maybe a dozen.

I'll do a few more before Monday, then I have until November to get more done to sell.  I usually do a few dozen every Christmas. I give tons away, and sell a few here and there.

When I was a single mother working as a waitress, I financed all my little boy's Christmas gifts by painting ornaments and selling them. Back then, they went for $3 a piece.  Now I sell them from $12.

I do take special orders, by the way.........

This morning I gave my $8 garage sale mirror a tan glaze so it will look better above my mantel/headboard.

I am keeping the holiday decor simple in the bedroom, 2 white trees, and 2 feather wreaths.

Here is  a dilemma I sure could use help with-

Where do I find a PRETTY electric alarm clock??? I'd love to have one and have searched online, estate sales, department stores, all over!!! What does your alarm clock look like??

Today's "What I LOVE about my home" is my tranquil bedroom. The colors are so peaceful and the room is a quiet retreat in a household that can get a bit crazed at times.

Reminders:

Romantic country party on Tues. the 25th!!

Leave a comment/enter the drawing for a Romantic Country magazine, and for my Sept. giveaway prize.

Family Chaos and a Jingly Bed Plus MORE Christmas In September

My SIL, Sandy, is visiting from Tennessee and the whole family came by tonight to see her.

We hadn't made any plans and next thing I know I am trying to figure out how 4 salmon fillets will feed 11 people, while trying to convince Sugarwings not to wrestle on the stairs with Twinkle or put spoons in the potty.  

We played with babies and laughed a lot, and found a turkey tenderloin to go on the grill with the salmon and everyone pitched in chopping up potatoes and making salads and brownies.

What do I love about my home today? Not a color choice or an item, it is the fact that everyone feels at home and comfortable at my cottage and can show up at any time knowing that they will be fed and we'll have a good time. 

Before the dinner rush, Sister Sandy and I went out shopping this afternoon. Tuesday Morning has 50% all clearance items and I found this throw for the day bed in the baby's room.

Its pink on one side and pink and ivory flowered on the other and seems to look right at home with the other floral quilts and pillows.

I bought these silver metal letters on clearance at Restoration Hardware last year at the after Christmas sale, and have added glitter to them (of course) and hung them from sheer pink ribbons to the day bed to spell Leandra's nickname, Lee Lee. 

She is too little to sleep in this bed yet, but I know she will love it when she is older. The letters clink a little against the metal frame and it sounds like wind chimes when the bed moves. When she comes to stay all night with me and have tea parties, I will ask her if she wants to sleep in her jingley bed, and give it a little shake when I tuck her in, to make the letters tinkle against the bars.

Sugarwings will be able to lay in her jingly bed and look up at the sky her grandmama painted just for  her.  I will make up fairy stories to tell her at bedtime and have her be the heroine of all tales about the sparkling fairies playing in the forest together.

Yes, I love my home, quite a bit and love the things in it, I have gathered them or made them with a lot of thought and care.  But the family that is in the home gets a big chunk of love from me too.

I am looking forward to seeing photos of what other bloggers love about their homes during our Romantic Country Party on the 25th.  The magazine was supposed to be out today, but I couldn't find it yet.  If anyone sees it, will you let me know?

And now, some Christmas in September - how wrong is that????

I have plans to make some hand painted ornaments to hang up for the pictures on Monday, but haven't seemed to have time to get it done yet.....

These are some that I collaged with vintage papers. I also glittered up vintage birdies and added them to mini wreaths with old millinery flowers.

Vitnage doll parts are on display on white iron with some charm jewelry I make from old pieces.

I'd like to have time to make more paper doll dresses to hang on the trees too.

I've been hanging tags onto the trees and made a garland of them to hang over the window. Karen. I added a vintage butterfly spray that I glittered up.

And of course, there are tussie mussies all over the place!  The tree topper is a bouquet of flowers from my first ever swap and were given to me by

Speaking of glitter, I should be making something sparkle. the house is quiet the guests are settled, the babies have gone home.  Late at night might be the only time this old granny has time to get any glittering done, so I am off to work!

  Let's see, what do I love about my home today?  Well,today it isn't a thing or a decor choice, it is the fact that everyone feels at home here, and likes to gather here.