Karla's Cottage

"Be My Fairy Valentine" Bird

What a good day!  I attended a class that my Bella pal, Sheila was teaching today at a barn. Yep, a barn. But not any old barn. Yes, there were stalls, and horses and hay, but there was also a full kitchen, two bathrooms, a bedroom, living room, dining nook, and full work space!

No, not a typical barn at all.  And the farm dogs were foofy, standard poodles.

 

The cute as a bug owner, Kelly, has set up the place for her design business and will be using it also for these class events. Along with the class, was shopping. Good shopping. Two of my favorite dealers from Rusty Chandelier had spaces here along with all of Kelly's gorgeousness. Clothes, jewels, and vintage tidbits filled the space, and I spent an hour before the luncheon was served exploring it all and picking out some treasures (photos later).

Sheila taught 3 classes, but Beth and I just signed up for one. And it was a doozy. What a cool idea she had to share! This is Sheila's class example, and she provided everything we needed to complete it just like this.

  But I had some changes in mind.... For the bird, I brought ledger paper with pink lines, and made the wings and tail feathers from millinery petals.  The eye is a crystal bead that Sheila provided. (I dropped mine, but Beth gave me hers to use) I used the Cropadile to punch an eye hole, then glued the bead inside, so that it was 3-d from both sides.  And you can see through it in the light for a little glow.

Before making the wired branches as Sheila instructed, I wrapped the "trunk" in pink velvet ribbon.  My theme became "Be My Fairy Valentine", so I used lots of fairy girls, pink flowers, and hearts. 

One cool thing about these trees, is that you can take all the goodies off and change them with the seasons.  So, next this can be a springtime tree.

There are pink velvet flowers wired onto my branches, so I am all ready for spring!

Sheila provided the oval chipboard, but instead of the photo she offered, I glued on some hand painted roses that I'd brought along.

Two little wooden hearts got covered in wallpaper on one side and that pink lined ledger paper on the other.  I snipped a length of a broken pearl necklace off to tie into a loop at the bottom to hold a little rose bud. ( I should have cut the length longer, it was a bit hard to tie with the string that short)

To hang the heart, I twisted a bit of wire into a kind of, heart shaped hook.

The spool and wire were things Sheila gave us, along with instructions on how to make a little nest with three eggs in it.  She is a wonderful, patient teacher and took time with each of us individually to explain the wire weaving to make the nests. I'd never tried one before, and really enjoyed learning that part. I can see lots of nests in my future...

The nest I made wasn't for birdies, though, its a fairy nest.  I wired this frozen Charlotte onto the top of the spool and made wings for her from little feathers that were in our kit ( I used one under the nest too) and some velvet millinery petals.  (Do you think she looks like she is hoola hooping? Maybe I should make her a tutu to cover the wire?)

To the front of the small spool, I added another wallpaper covered heart.

Before the class this morning, I glued a rhinestone heart to the front of this locket and made a tiny collage to put into it.

The fairy hanging behind it, is an old photo that I painted on. Then I covered the back in rose wallpaper, added ribbon and flowers to the bottom, and punched a hole to hang a crystal from (that Sheila had in our kits, she really provided some fun baubles for us). 

This is also a locket, with a mirror on the other side.  This is something that I hung as is.  I added a framed ribbon rose by my friend, Natasha, too.  

The tree was so much fun to make, that I almost can't wait to make more stuff for it and change the theme already!  I will be first in line to head out to the countryside for the next Farmstead Style experience, let me know if you want to come too!

Again, I need to thank you all for making the wallpaper FLY out of my boutique!  I've added a few more here and there and have tried to keep it stocked up, but some packets that are sold out won't be replaced.  I did replace some scrap packs and added this selection. Hopefully, later in the week, I'll have a chance to add some more.

But I have to work on a little segment for our local cable news channel for Thursday. Which means cleaning my house for the cameras, and showing 5 projects about Romantic Decorating for Valentines Day.  So, maybe the wallpaper will have to wait. My house is a wreck again.  Didn't I just spend a solid week cleaning and redoing??????

Speaking of time flying, where did January go???  But, you still have a little time to enter the January Giveaway drawing for a little painted and glittered cardinal!

Making Memories Last

The last few days, I've gotten caught up on a year's worth of photos!   January seems to be a good time for me to get organized.  But it would be smarter to glue pictures into the albums throughout the year instead of dealing with a couple hundred at once...

Since I had so many to arrange, I kept the pages very simple, quick and easy.

Printing a page of collaged photos saved a lot of time!  So did using the black pages as a background, and not trying to cover them up completely.  On this page, I doodled some flowers in Gelly Roll ink in the corner and slapped some glue on the picture and stuck it down.

For Sugarwing's Snow Princess picture, I used a two sided card stock to make a card.   One photo went on the top, and then I trimmed it in some of my Great Aunt Caroline's old lace.

I glued the back of the card into the album, and added another photo to the inside.  Next, I glued down an envelope that holds a copy of the story I wrote for her when we had our Snow Princess Tea Party.

The pastel Gelly Roll pens really worked well on the black paper, so I made use of them a lot.

I don't really consider myself a scrapbooker.  But, I do have tons of books that I've made (mostly about Sugarwings, but there are some other pics in them too) so I guess I am.

My goal when assembling an album is to get a lot done, fast, simple, quick, and cute.

First step is to sort the pictures.  I arrange them in piles according to event or person.  I work my way through, one pile at a time, and have a stack of papers nearby to coordinate.  Normally, I don't use stickers, but these were just so right for this picture of Sugarwings in her Snow White dress, that I couldn't resist sneaking them from her supply stash.  Sometimes, I think that kid has more art supplies than I do.

Instead of glue sticks, I use a bottle of Incredibly Tacky, and run a bead of it along the edges of each bit of paper, then zig zag it around the middle before putting it into the book.  It seems so much more durable to me than a glue stick.

Hobby Lobby has booklets of sparkle paper cut in just the perfect, time saving, size to add a photo to.  I made use of about a whole book full of those.  

 

Cutting people out of some of the photos adds some variety too.  I don't cut too many out, though, because part of the fun of looking at an album 20 years later is seeing all the backgrounds, and remembering a chair, or table or wall color from years ago.

Textured papers add some interest too.

The best part of doing this was enjoying all of my favorite photos from the past year.  

You can probably tell that I don't spend a lot of time cutting or measuring.... I eyeball the paper and snip away, and just don't worry about it being perfect.  Like I said, cute and quick.  (this is more sparkly paper, in a larger size)

Notice the beautiful card? It was one of the 100 hand made cards sent in to my Great Aunt for her 100th birthday.  When she passed away this summer, I got a few of the cards to take home and thought the album would be a good way to save them and remember the occasion.  This one was done by Nancy.  I glued it down, and then added two more pictures of Sugarwings and Pixie Pie to the inside of it.

Cards are a good way to fit more photos onto one page.  For the Christmas pages, I saved holiday cards that we got in the mail and used those to hold pictures.

Not all of the pages got much attention. Some were pretty simple.

Others had more going on. There are 4 pages about the Fairy Berry Trail and I wrote a little story to go along with it.  It might have looked better if I'd printed it out, or at least wrote more legibly, but like I said, there were hundreds of photos and I was going for quick and cute.

After making 4 photo albums in 3 days, I think I've had enough for a while. I have a feeling that I will not be keeping up throughout the year after all. I'm a bit burnt out. I'll probably have another big stack to deal with next January!

A couple of tiny ballerinas

Sugarwings went to her first ballet class yesterday.

Before the class began, she practiced her moves by copying some poses she saw in photos out in the

hallway of the Art Center.

We are so lucky to live in a town with a resource like this. Our art center is vibrant, busy, and there is always something fun going on.  When it was being built, I was on the committee to chose installation artists (I had NO idea what I was doing, I just picked what I liked, and tried to not feel intimidated by the real artists on the committee.)

One of the selected artists was a good friend of mine, Shanna Wagner, who also teaches at the center.  She did this stained glass mural in the stairwell, and it was such a huge project, that she enlisted friends to help out.  My bit is the yellow/orange area to the lower right.The piece is breath taking in person. I just love going to the Art Center and seeing it.

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Speaking of breath taking, the speed that the wallpaper is flying out of the shop is astounding! Thanks, guys!!!

Today, I added a few snack packs of scraps.  I have some more to photograph, but some packs are already sold out.  These small pieces are perfect for little artworks, like tags or ATCs. 

Its nice to have scraps to use for mini projects instead of cutting up a large piece for a 2 or 3 inch bit.

The packs were what I worked on for a while when friends came over for Craft Day. That and some photo albums that should have been put together a year ago, I've gotten a bit behind on my photos...

I wish every week had a craft day in it!  Those days are the best.  Although, I think Beth was doing an expose on the REAL Karla's Cottage while she was here.  Keep an eye out for incriminating photos on her blog.  I told her to go for it, I've shown some pretty bad messes around here. And when you see a photo of something pretty, that means that the other side of the room is a disaster because I've kicked everything over there out of the way, or else it is just cropped out.

See what I mean?  Here is the same view, uncropped with the clutter showing around it.   I have a feeling that Beth found worse, though.

About half way through the day, Marilyn mentioned that it was her birthday yesterday!  Luckily, we were prepared for any emergency around here, and I whipped out a cupcake and topper with a candle.

We also styled a photo of Beth's project for Mary's Artist Class. Notice a third dessert pictured? Yes, it was a day of treats. Homemade marshmallows by Shawn, and brownies from the birthday girl, cheesecake from me and cupcakes from Beth.  Sometimes, pitch-in lunches can be slanted in one direction, can't they?  Shawn also brought a deli tray and I made soup, so we weren't totally relying on sweets for lunch.  Although, that doesn't sound too bad, either.

There are still a few days left to enter this month's giveaway.  I'm offering a foofed up love bird made out of a vintage cotton fiber cardinal.  There are a few in the Boutique also, in case you win one and it needs a feathered friend.

A mini office redo for a mini office

Wallpaper packs are ready!!  Man, it feels like such an accomplishment for me, because that job drug on all week.

But, its not like I was slaving away for 12 hours a day getting them done...  Its such a boring job that I came up with all sorts of little excuses to do something else and not finish. 

Trying to get through that stack of paper was like reading a book that wasn't exactly a page turner, but still plugging away with it.  When I am reading a so-so book, I can take forever to get to the end, and don't want to start another book till that one is done.  So, I'll pick up a magazine, read blogs, or watch TV to procrastinate going back to that book.   I don't know why I won't give up on a book like that and start another... I'm a finisher, I guess.

So, while piles of cut and to-be-cut wallpaper filled up my studio, I felt too guilty to do any artwork out there.  I was saving a fun creative job as my reward for finishing.  But, I did let myself get side tracked by cleaning out Sugarwing's art supply cabinet, and redoing my office area a bit.

Since cleaning isn't all that fun either, it didn't feel like cheating.  I must really hate to chop wallpaper, if I'd rather redo all my office drawers and sort paper work.  But at least I didn't get so desperate that I worked on taxes!! That little treat is still waiting for me.

My office is a section of my studio, walled off by room dividers I've put together with  vintage doors, and  a mini gazebo creation thing made of porch posts, two by fours, and iron brackets.  Yesterday, while Sugarwings  played with her doll house (of course there is a doll house by the computer!), my son, helped me switch out desks and rearrange all the wires so they weren't as obnoxious.

The area feels much more functional, this desk is just a tad bit more comfy than the previous one. 

And doing it was a welcome break from cutting and ironing...

The cabinets in the office are all filled with shipping supplies and things listed to sell in the shop.  The area could probably be prettied up with better storage (yes that is a Walmart bag on the shelf), but it is a working area, and everything is usually buried under papers and packages anyway.

(the rug is a floor mat that I  painted on vinyl floor covering)

 

The wallpaper couldn't be avoided forever though.  And I got a good jump on it today, all packs are made up and photos are done on quite a few. Some are actually for sale now!  The Boutique at Karla's Cottage is well stocked for now, and if I can bolster the courage to add more, I have a few more stacks to list there.

Thank you, for all your requests for pretty papers. Its so wonderful to work with, I'm glad to know that lots of you guys love it too.  I am so looking forward to sitting down to my worktable and cutting and gluing a bunch of it into something!  Tuesday is craft day, with some friends coming over, so I plan on delving into a big pile of scraps then as my reward for chopping and ironing all week.

 

While I was avoiding my chores, I also spent some time playing online. Do you RMS? 

Rate My Space is a site by HGTV where you upload photos of your home and people either say mean things or compliments about it.  And rate your rooms.  I show my home on my blog all the time, but people who read my blog, usually "get" my style and like the look. On RMS, you never know who is looking or what they'll say. 

Its kind of fun. You can rate my kitchen here if you'd like.  Then, have some fun looking through.  The pictures run the gamut of people asking for advice, to magazine worthy rooms.  Its a great way to kill time while trying to avoid work! 

And for more fun while avoiding work:

 Jen over at Sanctuary Arts is having a redo party, and I have linked this post to hers.  Check out the other links there for some good ideas about prettying up your home.

Little Indulgences

Today is kind of blah. Yucky weather, I woke up with a bit of a stiff neck, and I am still facing a pile of wall paper to finish chopping, ironing, photographing, and listing.  But our days are what we make them, right?

So, I took a little break from the drudgery of making packets of paper to sell, and treated myself to a tasty treat instead of grabbing a power bar and eating while working.  Sometimes, its the little things that cheer me, like serving myself on a pretty plate.  It wasn't a fancy meal, but peanut butter and sunflower seeds on a toasted whole wheat bagel tastes pretty good with Italian soda, while reading  a magazine.  (and getting away for work for a few minutes!)

This issue of Somerset Life is available now, when I showed the advance copy, it hadn't been out on the stands yet and some of you had asked where to get it.  I usually find them at Borders, or other book stores like that, or at Michaels. 

Over the years, I've done lots of magazine articles. (Here or here is a list of a few of them) But I've never gotten so many nice congratulatory notes as I have for this one!  Thanks, to those of you who noticed it and came by to say "hi".

I guess we all love Somerset, huh?  I'm sure thrilled to be in it. 

The magazine was a good one to indulge myself in while getting away from work for a while. The issue is full of inspiration to keep me going on a yucky day!  And now, after treating myself kindly with a pampered little break, I'm ready to face the piles of papers waiting for me in the studio.

After rolling out the papers, cutting, and ironing them, I stack them up and press them flat.
These trophies have enough heft to help flatten the pieces.  I feel like I deserve a trophy myself after all this work!

That doesn't look like much does it? But it represents a few days of grueling labor... The paper can be very delicate and difficult to cut into squares. Once they are cut up, it is much easier to work with, but the long pieces tend to split and tear if I'm not extra gentle and take my time. So, just as I relax and get on a roll, I'll forget to take it easy and have a big piece rip up on me!

That's heartbreaking, since each bit is beautiful and valuable to me.  They don't make this stuff anymore! I save all the scraps and make sure they get used.

I'll have some scrap packs to list in the shop too.  Scraps are good to have for small projects, like tags or ATCs, you don't want to cut into a 10" piece for just a 2" bit!

Okay, my break is over.  Thanks for keeping me company while I rested up enough to go and face the exacto knife and ironing board  again.  I'll leave you with some photos of what I listed yesterday in the Boutique and on Etsy.  

And don't forget, all comments, all month go into the drawing for a vintage bird that I've foofed a bit.

(this just sold)

These are flocked as well as glittered.

 

Feathered Friends and a forgotton giveaway

Beth and I finally got together today, we've been trying since Christmas Day!  She and her husband were supposed to have Christmas dinner with us, but got snowed in.  Between bad weather, and many other little issues, we hadn't had a chance to hang out since. 

Today, she was able to come here and we worked away in the studio making things and talking for what seemed like a few minutes, but was  really hours.  When she left, I begged her to come back tomorrow, it was so nice to have a day to relax, chat, and catch up while creating things.

We also exchanged gifts, a few weeks late. Here is what she brought me. I hated to open it, the wrapping was so flowery and gorgeous, but was glad I did!  I got a sharp, pink kitchen knife and cutting board (everyone HATES my kitchen utensil situation when they come over, and I really needed this upgrade), as well as a stack of especially pretty post cards and a floral box.

I'd made her a Christmas tree (yes, kind of late to enjoy that one!!) and placed it into a lidded glass jar that I decorated with her initial. I figured she could pack away the tree and use the jar in her studio for supplies.  I also gave her a coffee travel mug that I fixed up, but forgot to take a picture of. I did a similar one for myself, so I'll show that with some how to's another day.

For me, today was birdie day. I had some red birds, that were a nice, vintage cotton fiber, but honestly, I just am not a red person. So, I thought I'd try painting them.  I used a combination of acrylic paint, then crackle paint, then glitter and was pretty happy with the results.

These two are in love.

They are all love birds now, instead of cardinals.  Some have already been used in projects and will be lovely Valentine displays, that can carry on into Spring time since there are no hearts or other blatant signs of Valentine's - just a feeling of it. 

Others are individual birds that are ready for you to use in your own projects, or to simply enjoy as is.

If you'd like one, they are listed in my Boutique.

I've got big plans brewing for beefing the Boutique back up, its a bit emptied out after the holidays.

I've already listed a few packs of Heavenly Wallpapers (sorry, they are already sold!) but am still chopping and will be adding more soon as I get all the slicing and dicing done.

There will be an announcement when they are ready to sell.  I've got 11 x 14 and 8 x 10 in about 15 styles so far, but want to cut more up and get a full restock done.  Since I've got over 200 rolls of wallpaper, I can't cut them all without spending a lifetime doing nothing else, but I at least want a BIG assortment ready to share with you. I hope to have at least 25- 30 patterns cut and ironed and photographed by the end of the week.

There will be some new millinery packs coming too.

Its a lot of work to pluck the blooms, but at least I have a helper!

I forgot all about the January Giveaway!! How about a bird?  I made an army of them today, the ones pictured here are just a few. If you'd like a foofed and glittered bird, please leave a comment on any post, all month.

Lighting

Remember the rugs I want from Curious Sofa? I am still jone-sing for those, but right now, they aren't available in the size I need for the kitchen.  My house is big, but my rooms are small, in the old part of the house. And this is AFTER removing some walls!

I found these plain bamboo mats at Old Time Pottery for under $25 each. They are far, far, far from the quality of the ones at Curious Sofa. Those have wider, more solid planks of bamboo, more floor like than this.   These are pretty light weight, and are a temporary solution for me.

To foof them up a bit, I drew on them with a brown Sharpie marker.  It was an easy, quick project to do, I just sat on the floor and doodled away while Sugarwings and Twinkle played with toys next to me. 

The reason I love the bamboo rugs for my kitchen to start with, is that they are low maintenance.  If something spills, or mud gets tracked in, just sweep and mop them, and its a speedy clean up.  But, I don't have to worry about as much filth showing  (and with 3 dogs, a 3 year old, and a lot of grown men in living in this country house, there is plenty of filth!)  because they are darker than the horrid light colored tiles we have.

By the way, if you are ever tempted to install cream colored flooring, just whack yourself over the head with one of the tiles instead.  DO NOT give in to impulse!! I regret it daily. No matter how clean my house is, those floors always look bad.

(please don't tell Twinkle that the photo is of the rug, not of her, it would break her heart.)

 

I'm wishing we'd gone for darker tile, or even a really dark stained pine plank...

Soft lighting helps, though!  Last night we had a dinner party, and I made use of all my lamps.

The overhead lights got turned off and I switched on all the smaller lamps and lit candles instead. (this rug still needs some Sharpie doodling) There is something about the soft glow coming from the corners of the room that makes me fall in love with my home all over again.  

When we built the cabinets, I had electrical outlets added above them.  There is one in the corner cabinet too. In that one, I drilled holes to run an extension cord up through, so I could have a little 25 watt lamp on each shelf.

And of course, you can't beat candle light either.  I use this old chandelier with no wiring ($4 at a flea market) and the sockets perfectly fit tea lights.  Previously, I used candelabras, till I realized that they are always in the way and block the view of the person across the table.

Tea lights don't drip, and burn for just over 2 hours or so, just right for a relaxed dinner with friends.

 

The snow still has not melted around here, and I have decided to give up on waiting.  So I trudged through it to claim these garden chairs I wanted for the breakfast nook.   Much better!  The hand painted Victorian chairs are now in the studio, and I think this corner is much less sweet.   I loved the chairs, and I loved the curtains, but when I got those great new lace panels, I realized that I needed some juxtaposition, or my house would look like  a little old lady lived in it.

Well, I might be getting old, but I hope to not let my house reflect it... Some contrast, and some junk help keep a home whimsical and not fussy.

Pretty kitty

Have you met some wonderful people online? I know that my life has been enriched by all my blog friends, and I am constantly being impressed and inspired by the kind hearts and generosity out there in bloga-ritaville (as my pal, Robin, calls it)

A while ago, Rachel contacted me to see if it was okay to send Sugarwings a gift. She says that she is raising boys but loves to make pretty things for little girls, and wanted to send my fairy grand baby a kitty doll. I told her that  Sugarwings loves to play babykitty/mommykitty, and she even customized the doll, by adding a kitten!

When Sugarwings, her mommy and I opened the box, all three of us said "awwwww" all together, it was so cute nestled in the box and wrapped in tulle.

If you'd like one for yourself, or for some little sweetheart in your life, she has a family of kitties waiting to be adopted in her Etsy shop.

And if you think it would be fun to make your own little stuffed buddy, here is a head start for you. I bought a boxful of old laces and trims and these were in the box.  There are a total of 15 precut teddy bears, with the faces already embroidered and ready to be sewn and stuffed.  The directions and pattern are included and you can find it in my Boutique for $5 (total for all 15 guys and the directions)

This morning, I went to a Thai Chi class. I'm middle aged and pudgy, so I doubt if looked very elegant while trying to keep my balance, but I think I kind of enjoyed it. Ask me tomorrow, when I see how stiff I am in the morning.

The rest of the day was spent on odds and ends, cleaning up my studio, so I can make space to work on some orders that I need to get done (wall paper for Rita and a fairy portrait for Sherry).  But cleaning the studio to me, doesn't mean just putting piles away, it means doing something with it. So, the pile of stuff accumulating on the desk waiting to be photographed, actually got their pictures taken and got listed in the shop.

This little needle kit is $6.50

Great rose cover, huh?

And I might just be too late for this one.... is anyone still making Valentine's or has that ship sailed?  In case you are still working on a Valentine's swap, or making something pink and red  and rosy for your self, here are some supplies.

I found a cute heart shaped plastic box (vintage) and filled it with pink and red buttons, pearl beads and little red velvet flowers.  Oh, and a bit of flashy rhinestone jewelry.

 

Its wrapped up in a pink floral hankie tied with old trims, with a pink velvet millinery sprig attached.

Do you need the perfect napkin to complete the table setting for Valentine's Day? Here are some delicate little embroidered ones, that are as dainty as can be.

These are nice too.  They make me feel like Spring is actually going to arrive some day....

It is warmer here, but sure not Spring time.  At least it is bearable out there.

Good thing its not single digit cold any more, my husband has been outside changing the tire on Old Blue.  Sugarwing's Hippy Chic Mommy had some car trouble this week, so my husband offered to loan his big red truck to her and he will drive Old Blue till she gets settled.  But, before this decrepit chunk of rust can be road safe, it needs brakes, and before it gets brakes it needs a tire. 

Its nice to have an extra  vehicle out behind the shed when you need it.  Even better if it runs....

Okay, back to work for me. That studio needs more work before I can actually use it!

Inspirations

When I finally escaped from being trapped at home by the cold spell,  I got really lucky on my shopping trips.  I'm always looking for millinery flowers, and my hat whispering skills were in fine form this week.  Not only did I find old hats, look at this sweet little parasol purse that I found!

Too bad I can't go to Jenn's event in April, it would be the perfect purse to carry there.

And did I mention the hats??? FOURTEEN hats this week, all flowery and vintagey, some nice and velvety.

There were bargains out there waiting for me, the prices ranged from $1- $17, and some are just loaded to the brim (pun) with flowers.  I'll be making up some pink, red, and white packs for Valentine's Day. Unless of course, I am too late. I might have missed out on getting supplies to you for Valentine's.  I feel like I am never quite caught up... so much that I want to do, no time to do it.

While I was in Kansas City, my pal, Carol, gave me a sneak peek of her farm house, dream house.  It was hard to be happy for her, when I was turning so green with envy that I was about to froth at the mouth.

Her new home will be amazing.  It already is, but when she adds her special Spinski touches, it will be amazing-er.

And I had mentioned going to Curious Sofa to look for rugs, here is a picture of Debbie's stunning decor.  See why I felt like I needed to de-flower my kitchen?  Hanging around with Carol and Debbie has made me bump up my style to a more sophisticated palette.  These two ladies were certainly an inspiration for my kitchen redo. 

Beth too.  She has that sepia thing going on too.

This chandelier is in her booth. Notice the NFS tag??? Durn. I'm wanting it.

The whole drive into KC yesterday, was a wet and muddy one from melting snow.  But everywhere I went, there were rainbows!   (Yes, I was driving and taking photos at the same time, but hey, I was not about to pass up a rainbow photo op!) 

On my way to the antique mall, I came across this.  Notice the "Income TAX" sign?  This place inspires trust, doesn't it? Makes you want to bring your shoe box full of receipts right in and dump it on the plywood desk.

Forget Zero Dollar Decorating, I'm going shopping!!!!!!!!!!!

I got out of the house!!! We had quite the heat wave, temps roared up into the low 20s. So, of course, I had to go outside into the world and soak up some of that great weather.

And shop!

My Zero Dollar Decorating is done, I went out spending!  First stop? Curious Sofa.  Debbie had emailed 20% off coupons with an announcement of big sales.  I had been coveting some bamboo rugs she carries, with vintage style script on them. Sadly, there weren't any in the size I needed, but I HAD to spend my coupon, right?  You can't let 20% off at Curious Sofa just slip by.

So, I bought the clock in the first photo.  It seemed to be just right for the new look in the kitchen.  While I was in the neighborhood, I swung by Beth's booth at Mission Road Antique Mall and picked up the clock face (2nd photo).  Hmm, looks like the beginning of a theme, to me.

When I saw this Cinderella's carriage, I knew that clocks were the right choice!  It was found at my favorite antique mall, the Rusty Chandelier in St. Joe.  My friend and I were both needing a good girlfriend day out and we made the most of it. Talking non-stop for about 10 hours, shopping, dining, and shopping some more.  There was no one home at either of our houses, and no reason to get back, so we just made a day and an evening out of it.  

After being cooped up for so long, it was exactly what I needed to myself back to normal. Sometimes you just need a day out, to talk to another adult who you are not related to, but just love like a sister and have a lot in common with.  What would we do without our friends??? Including blogfriends- thank you all, for keeping my company while I was snowbound. If I didn't have your email conversations during this last cold snap, I'd have really gone insane. 

Its nice to know that friends are only a keystroke away! 

Since I had found my clock theme while out shopping, I decided to add a watch face to a piece of art I made today for the kitchen.

I started with a French ad from an old magazine, and glued a butter pat plate to it, added a millinery bloom and the watch face to the center of that.  To the middle, I glued a rhinestone.

Then, I cut a tiny oval of old text and glued it to a charm, and glued a mini cameo to it, and hung it from a crystal.  With a punch, I made two holes under the word "Paris" to put a ribbon through, then tied that to the crystal to dangle it.

At the bottom of the page, I pasted a German die cut rose.

It didn't quite look done, so I drew some scrolls and swirls in metallic inks. If I'd planned better, I'd have drawn it first, instead of trying to work around the things I'd already glued down.

After that, I rubbed dark brown ink along the inside of the mat, and popped it all back together.  Now, I want to go buy some more shadow boxes and make more! I loved doing a 3-D collage, or is it called an assemblage?

Another purchase yesterday was this crystal ball, bubble night light.  While I had the old French papers and glue out, I covered the wooden base of this, and inked the edges.

This frame was from our trip yesterday too. I wanted new accent pieces for the kitchen redo, but just couldn't find what I wanted, so decided to make something. 

In this, I used more French text from an old book, that I'd embossed one day when Beth brought over her Cuttlebug.  

To make the  embossing stand out, I rubbed over it with a bronze ink pad.

In the center, I added a circle punched from the cover of the French magazine, which was a nice brown, then glued velvet petals and a white millinery rose to the circle. 

After putting it back together, I fashioned a hanger from ribbons.  I tightly tied two ribbons around the frame, then looped another one through them, and hung that one over a hook on the wall.

Here is a view from the far side of the kitchen. A great view of just how crooked the old house is...

After dropping my friend off after our day of shopping, I stopped and got a can of creamy taupe paint to change the walls behind the cabinets by the sink. The inset had been chocolate brown (like the rugs) but it seemed way too dark after my other changes.  So, I was painting at midnight last night.  It was a quick job though, because Behr now makes a primer/paint combo and it covers like a dream.

(that is a pot of chicken rice soup on the stove, yum, I'm hungry just thinking about it in the kitchen waiting for me!)

Here is the kitchen from the other direction. The wooden piece over the window is also from yesterday's expedition.  I got it at Rusty Chandelier's sister store, Jesse James. (Or would Jesse be a brother store? They share a parking lot)

After painting the inset creamy taupe, I had to add some of that color to the faux finish around the other walls.  I think I'm done.  Well, maybe.... I really would love to find some non-princess chairs for Sugarwing's table.

  And I am still planning on bringing in some metal garden chairs for the breakfast nook

if the snow ever melts.

I've got some old alarm clocks that I might take apart to get the faces from, and add some of those to the china cabinet, too.

And I really, really, really want those rugs from Curious Sofa! Either this one, or this one?

Well, maybe I am not done, after all.

 

Are we ever done?  That is what makes it fun!

Here are my totals for what I spent, after I escaped from the house and  the Zero Dollar Decorating:

paint- $36

trim over window- $19

frame for flower collage- $2

clock faces- $6

Cinderella's carriage- $29 (big splurge, but SO cool!!)

Clock from Curious Sofa- $48

bubble night light- $15

Fleur de Lis hook for flower collage- $6