Karla's Cottage

A Romantic Cottage Christmas

On Saturday, November 23, I will be hosting a gathering in my Lawrence, Kansas studio to create dainty decor for your holiday home.  All supplies will be included for you to finish 4 sparkling projects. A homemade lunch, and goodies will be served, as well as beverages throughout the day.

We will be working with many of my favorite, vintage supplies and of course, using The Good Stuff. You will only need to bring your tools, I'll provide the rest.  You'll  receive a kit for each pretty we make, plus I'll have a table of extras set up for you to personalize and embellish to your heart's content.  There is no such thing as too much when the holidays roll around!  Glitter and sparkle galore will be the theme of the day.

This is an all day workshop, two projects in the morning and two after lunch, from 9am-5pm.

Cost is $100 Please email me for a paypal invoice if you'd like to join us for the day.  If you'd rather to pay by check, just let me know.

[email protected]

Limited space is available, (and I will try to make up extra kits to sell online for those of you who are too far away to jump in your sleigh and come visit in person.)  But I do hope to see you here at the Cottage!  I'll have it all foofed and tinselled up for our special day.

 

ghosts and giggles

We did some early Halloween celebrating at the county club's Ghost and Giggles event. It's such a cute evening out, they have games set up for the kids, a clown, balloon animals, and great food.

And creepy names for the foods, like Mummy Fingers,  Monster Eyeballs, and Frank's Green Goo.  Dewdrop was excited to get her plate till I started to recite the names  for her. We call her the world's hungriest baby, but she wasn't going near her food when she thought it was really monster stuff.

The clown's show made up for the scary decor and spooky food titles. She was mesmerized.

Sguarwings was so excited by it all, she was mostly a blur, darting from one event to the next.

The club had piles of candy out for kids to help themselves, and I was pleased to see that our little fairies didn't try to load up on it.  I filled my pockets with Smarties....  I didn't see the girls even go near the treats table. Maybe the spooky skeleton kept them away.

They were much more interested in the bowls of toys that were also self serve.  Sugarwings treated us to a puppet show with her loot.

I went as a witch.  My son said I looked so good that someone might just drop a house on me.

He didn't go with us, he had a DJ job that night, and went as Thoth and fabricated this mask for his costume. 

Sugarwings wanted to wear the Halloween costume that her mommy bought for her, but I asked her to save it for her school party and trick or treating, so it would be special then. I didn't tell her that I wanted her to wear the princess gown I'd bought for the Renfest so I could get some of my money's worth out of it. 

Not that it was too pricey, TJ Max and Marshalls have elaborate, well made costumes for a decent price, her gorgeous, velvet dress was $32. It was a very good quality.  So was Dewdrop's and hers came with a cloak too.

But even at only thirty bucks each, I felt like I needed to get two events out of the dresses!

This year's party seemed a bit subdued. When I mentioned it to my husband later, he said it was because of the KU game that night, not a lot of people made reservations. 

A game instead of dressing up like a witch, and watching a magic show with a couple of pink princesses?  What was everyone thinking?  That never would have occurred to me.

A Gnats and Brats Wicked Weekend

While my sisses were visiting, we had a couple of big days out.  We saw Gravity in the 3D Imax (wow), shopped, shopped, and shopped a bit more...

...had a last minute idea to go see Wicked, and were able to get three of the last seats available for opening night.  (not the best seats, but we enjoyed the play. Bobbie was the only one who hadn't seen it before, too bad we were so high up, she still hasn't really seen it)...

Sissy brought us all matching bittersweet orange scarves to wear and we were proud to look like triplets all weekend.

...and we ate way, way too much good food.  I think the best meal was at the Nicklaus Golf Club. My husband was working there that day and we met him for lunch.  Their food is always yummerific.

For the rest of the time Bobbie Sue and Sissy were here, I had the little grand fairies to care for, so our adventures had to include the girls. 

Beth came by and joined us for a craft day.

Which was nice, because I hardly ever get to spend time with her any more.

And we had a Renfest day with both girls and our Hippy Chick.

But a lot of the time, was just hanging out around the kitchen table.   Drinking coffee, talking, and swatting gnats. I had a trap made for the gnats, by filling a glass with an orange segment, covered in vinegar, with Saran Wrap over it.  Then, I used a toothpick to punch holes in the wrap, so that gnats could get into the cup.  They are attracted to the scents, and get in through the holes, but can't smell their way back out again.  It works pretty well, but we had way too many flying beasts for this to catch them all.

With little girls running around under foot and bugs buzzing our heads, I started calling this our Gnats and Brats Weekend. 

I finally told my sisters that I wasn't going to treat them like company any more and I hung up a fly strip from the chandelier.  (classy) 
And the fly strip wasn't getting all the pests either.   I put the vinegar trap under the fly strip, so the smell would draw them in, and then the ones that didn't go into the cup would get caught on the strip.  To get them closer to the strip, I had to stack a kid's chair on the island with a salad spinner on top of it. 

I'd thought about using a crystal bowl upside down instead of a salad spinner, thinking that would look nicer, then I realized that nothing would make this look nicer.

This was a nasty, bug encrusted fly trap in the middle of my kitchen.

It reminded me of the time I was reminiscing with two very dear, old friends. We were talking about how far we'd come in our lives from our Trailer Trash roots.  (my sister hates it when I say I'm trailer trash, because she thinks Mom and Dad would spin in their graves to hear it, both worked hard to provide a good home for us. But the truth is, long after Sissy grew up and moved out, I lived in a trailer with Mom, and after that, I kind of lived in a succession of one trailer after another for a few years)

But back to my friends....

We had grown up together, and supported each other through our parents' divorces, and had all had some rough times that we faced together.

So, we were congratulating ourselves on leaving the land of trailer parks behind, and being proud of each other for living in homes without wheels now. (I've lived in a total of 5 mobile homes myself, and was lucky to have a roof over my head and wheels under my feet at the time) 

And then, Sandy said, "Wait, Debbie lived in a really nice double wide, does that still count?" (Sandy and I had some crappy trailers to our name)

And we all burst out laughing, remembering how much nicer Debbie's trailer was than ours, but still knowing that yes, a trailer is a trailer.

As I was planning my gnat entrapment, and trying to dress it up, I figured you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear.  A fly trap is every bit as ucky hanging from a chandy as it is from a bare bulb.  A double wide is a trailer, even if it is a nice trailer.

And you can take the girl out of the trailer, but you can't take the trailer out of the girl.  I'm glad I had years of poverty in my past, years that taught me to appreciate what I have, years that taught me to scrounge, save, and be creative, look for deals, do it myself.  Years that make me a practical person who knows that gnats are better stuck to goo than dive bombing your company.

Kansas City Renfest, a sister visit, and an itsy bitsy mermaid

My sisses came to visit and I got a Renfest do-over, just like I wanted. 

It was a spur of the moment idea.

Sis mentioned that plane tickets were cheap and before we really thought about it, they were here.

Which is when it occurred to us that we COULD have met up in Florida instead.

We've been trying to plan a sister trip there to sprinkle our dad's ashes together, and the timing never works out. 

While Kansas sure isn't Florida, we managed to have quite a good time. There was royalty to meet.....

Fairies everywhere.....

Fire dancers.....

A castle to explore....

A miniature mermaid to meet.....

Shopping to do.....

And pink princesses to hug.

Even though we missed out on going to the ocean, we had a lot of fun.

We had the little fairy grandgirls with us for most of the day, and I of course had my camera pointed at them all the time, like I usually do.

But after my husband took a sleepy fairy home to nap and Sugarwings went off to explore with her mommy, I actually pointed my camera at some of the sights of the renfest.

One thing I love about the place is that it is a permanent location, and the grounds have some beautiful buildings.

My fave is the castle in progress. Not just because my son did some of the stone work, but because it is such an intriguing design.

He was working there this year, and his girls were thrilled to see him and kept wanting to go back to his booth.

He was selling his hand made magic wands. 

I am helping him get an Etsy shop together where he can market these as well as his jewelry. 

Of course, he won't have to put a costume on to sell stuff online like he did at the festival.

There was more magic to be found too.  Sugarwings met Bitsy, a baby mermaid and made instant friends.  She was hanging out in the park taking a break and the two got to know each other and chatted a while.  Sugarwings gave her am organic sucker (we pack treats for the day), and told her it was called a Lollipop, adding, "We eat these on the land"

I hope that child never loses her amazing imagination.  The world is filled with wonders to her.

I think her baby sister believes in fairies too.

I know I do.

I'll leave you with some scenes of the day.

Georgia part 3

When  Lori Oles, Andrea Singerella,,Hope Wallace Kearny, and I flew down to see Suzanne and Jennifer Hayslip my buddy, Sherry kindly invited us to her antique haven of a home for a visit and then hauled us around to some of her favorite shops.

One of our stops was for authentic, down home style southern cooking at the Blue Willow.

Hope snagged info from there, as from all of the spots we hit, for her travel journal, that she had completely done and ready to pop photos into when she got home.

Sherry's house had more to see in it, than at any antique shop we could ever find.

OH

MY

GOODNESS

I don't know that I could possibly describe the treasures lurking behind, beyond, under and over each other in her Victorian dream house.

This is one small snippet, of a giant house filled with fripperies and fineries.

I was touched to see so many familiar pieces in the midst of her major collections.  This is a painting I did of one of her grands.

And here is her project from Lori's Birdsong class this spring.

And from Lisa's class 3 years ago.

And a mushroom that I made for Jenn's fairy tale event in Asheville a couple of autumns ago.

There was a lampshade from Debbie's Birdsong class too.

I saw some clever ideas.

Gorgeous, vintage books.

And piles and piles of pretties.

I seriously can't imagine so many cool things in one home.  I should've tried to get an all over photo of at least one of the rooms, you wouldn't believe it.

Sherry is a master shopper, for sure and has created a home filled to the brim with what she loves.It was quite an experience to see her collections.

And quite an experience to get to spend time with such good friends too.

I miss them already!

How to make a Hocus Pocus/ Practical Magic/ Grimmerie/ Evil Dead/ Evil Eye/ whatever you want to call it, magic spell book

My sisses came to see me last week and we were able to squeeze in a craft day between all of our runnings around.  One trip out was to the Victorian Trading Co. outlet store in KC, and Bobbie saw something there that she had wanted to order, but was glad she did because it wasn't as cool in person.

It was an evil eye, magic spell book.  Kind of like the Hocus Pocus book.  I decided we could make our own and use better materials instead of the resin that fake book was made of.  Plus, our books are functional, Bobbie is using hers as a photo album for our trip.

One of mine is actually a faux book that opens up as a trinket box.  I've got three books listed on Etsy if you are interested in buying one.

Or if you'd rather make your own, here are some quick how-to's.

This eye, is made of paper clay and hand painted, but if you aren't a painter, I have a short cut for you.

You can use a doll eye from the craft store.  

On this one, I cut the back off so it had a lower profile.

The eyelids are made of paperclay.

Simply surround it with a couple of snake rolls.

Then smoosh them out and add wrinkles with a toothpick or clay tool.

I used some modelling paste over the old paper I added to the cover, and a piece of lace to texture it all. You could also use a thin layer of paper clay, but it is more expensive and heavier, I found the modelling compound easier to use for an all over dragon skin look.

I won't go into details about finishing  my books, the decor is a personal choice and you can embellish your book however you like now that you know how to make the evil eye.

What was important to me while making them, was that I kept the covers pretty even while they were spooky.

Lots of rhinestones, ribbons, and Victorian lace.

  The Good Stuff. 

I also thought a key hole and key were a good touch.

And don't neglect the insides! These pages are inked and edged to look old.  The inside covers are sheathed in vintage wallpaper.

I even found some "nice" spells in an old fairy tale.

"Weave your Joy

Sing your Spells

Wave your Charms"

It seemed to me, with an eye that creepy on the front, the books all needed an extra wallop of pretty to counter balance that.

Plus, who wants an evil witch book around?

I much prefer good witches. This cover reads:

"As good and kind as you are fair"

 

True Eye Candy

Yep, believe it or not, this is REAL. A real life home, filled with kids, dogs, and love.  As well as some of the prettiest collections you'll ever find.

Jenn's house is pretty as pretty can be.

A sweet confection of frothiness and pastel beauties.

With a fair share of whimsy too.

And attention to detail throughout.

And a home with a Yorkshire Terrier in it, is a very special home to me.

Throw in a second one and I'm a happy house guest.

Jenn graciously invited us to stay with her in her Georgia mansion and it was our home base for a couple of nights on our trip.

There was something breathtaking to see, everywhere I looked.  But the loveliest item off all, was this photo that Jenn took of her daughter, Vivian.

She is beginning a new photography business called Pink Ellie

From the examples she has posted, I can see that she will do well.  Oh my! She has captured some beautiful moments.

Jenn opened up her equally frothilly sweet studio to us too. I brought charms and glaze, Lori and Hope provided old papers, so we could all have some creating time.

The room is Jenn from floor to ceiling.

Pictured:  Jennifer Hayslip

Hope Wallace Kearny

We had decided not to do a whole craft day, or any big projects. This little one was just right, to satisfy the creative urge but still leave plenty of time for just relaxing.

Pictured:

Suzanne Duda  and Lori Oles

And of course, was a great excuse to soak up Jenn's stellar studio. And pose. We did a lot of posing. 

d And smiling.  Tons of smiling.

 

An altered book, Fairy Tale style, or Fun with Trophies

This year, I've made a lot of class kits that needed book covers. Therefore, I had a LOT of naked books. Most of them, I recycled, but a few I saved to play with. 

I'd always wanted to try making one of these folded page thingies with a story book theme. For this one, I chose Cinderella because Beth gave me a ballroom dancing trophy that reminded me of a prince charming and his true love.

I primed and painted the trophy, then took it apart, it was easier to paint the topper while it was attached.  Her dress got a sugary coat of glitter, I added some crowns, and set it aside.

The fun part was adding the storybook elements.  This broken, old cameo looked like Cinderella to me, so was perfect for the front of the piece.

In my kitchen, I had a pile of white, paper clay, pumpkins in a dish to set out for fall decorating, and stole one of those to use as a pre-carriage.

There was a big pile of old, old, Cinderella books all piled up on my booksheft to sift through for ideas. But I decided to keep this diorama cohesive by using illustrations from the same book.  This one was published in the 1800s.

All the figures that I cut out, got backed with cardstock from Bingo cards. Tabs were made on the feet so I'd have something to glob glue on and slide between the pages to make the people stand up.

When I cut out pages to make the opening for the scene, I didn't do a very good job, it was pretty uneven and ragged. I'd say a dremel tool would be the way to go.  To cover up my choppy mess, I covered it in flocked wallpaper, which I thought looked appropriately royal.

At the top of the cut out opening, I covered up the badly cut pages with a ruffle of crepe paper. I'm all about making it work, somehow or another.  After all that work of ripping that dang book apart, I wasn't going to dump it because I'd done it so poorly. I just hid the mistakes behind layers.

I would do dozens and dozens of these if there wasn't that pesky part about folding the hundreds of pages and cutting out the opening.

Tedious times ten. 

But worth it.  Maybe I'll fold pages some evening in front of the TV. I really did enjoy the creative part of the project.

This trophy got a more simple makeover.  The topper was glittered, added to a big spool, then sat on a box lid covered in sheet music.

Layers of crepe paper, and some German foil, a magic wand, a couple bits-o-bling, and ta dah.

And doesn't everything look better under glass?

 

Friends, fun, and a farmhouse

Gorgeous old paper, isn't it? 

Suzanne gave us a tour of the 1875 farm house she is redoing and I was wildly enamoured with this wallpaper in the front parlor.

We are a bunch who appreciates old paper, and there was a chorus of oohing and ahhing during the sneak peek into the home.

Each room had layer upon layer, and Suzanne is patiently peeling it away in her labor of love to redo this stately, old charmer.

She was able to pull some of it away in big sheets. And she shared them with us!  I was surprised to see how nicely this gold paper came away from the birds and vines below it. 

This is probably a more typical outcome.  Harder for her, of course, but lovely to see in all of it's crackly, peely, wonderfulness.

As much as I hate to see the aged papers being taken off and disposed of, once she showed us a finished room, I was able to let go of my feelings of loss. 

Suzanne had the workers indulge her and finish this room while still doing demo on the rest of the home, so that she would have a place to go and have faith in the project's completion. 

Smart plan, huh? It is an elegant and beautiful spot, an oasis in all the demo mess.  Although, I hope that chandy doesn't give her too much trouble in keeping the crystals clean.

pictured: Lori Oles, Hope Wallace Kearny, Suzanne Duda, Jennifer Hayslip, Andrea Singerella, and me

The home sits on 22 acres, and Suzanne has a golf cart for buzzing around in.

We took a ride down to the lake, and out into the woods on a curving trail cut through the trees.

There were lots of photo ops.  I don't think we missed a single one.

Lots of out buildings are on the property too. 

So much work has been done already, and Suzanne has big plans for the home and grounds.  She has a lot of people who love her and believe in what she is doing, while backing her up and helping her with the project too.

Including her adorable son who took a break from tearing out walls to snap photos of the group of us. With all of our phones and cameras.  He's a cutie, isn't he?

We happened to be in town for her birthday and Jenn picked up a cake, topped with pink roses, Suzanne's favorite.  And when you make the roses out of icing, they are my fave too.  YUM

Even though it was her birthday, Suzanne fixed us a feast, at a lavishly set table.  We stayed at her home the first night, and it was the coziest, lushest B&B you could ever visit.  Big, ole. soft sofas, a warm and happy kitchen, everything was infused with Suzanne's over the top, generous soul.  She is a dream hostess.

And I plan on stealing her idea for a shutter centerpiece.

Our night was relaxing and full of laughter.  Maybe a little wine too... There could have been a couple glasses sipped while she opened her gifts.

Which explains why I didn't get more photos of her beautiful, shabby chic home. 

That first night, we were so busy catching up and giggling, that I didn't get my camera out much.

I made up for it the rest of the trip, and was glad to get some "before" pics of the fab farm. I have all my fingers and toes crossed that I'll be invited back someday to see the "afters" too. 

Not just because I can't wait to see her vision of her farmhouse fulfilled, (I know it is going to be beyond beautious), but because she is a person that I wished I could spend more time with.   What fun weekend, I can only hope to repeat it again someday when all the refurbishments are done on the home.

(you can click on the first image to open in a larger window, save to your computer and print it for use in your art)  I'll have photos of the rest of the trip coming soon.

Double the fun

Did you have a chance to see the Wizard of Oz during the limited dates at the 3D Imax?  We had to go, of course!!

And I was glad I did.  If only to watch Glenda's bubble float through the sky and see her sparkling gown.  oh my!  I really enjoyed the new look of the movie. Details like the live birds wandering around in the background and the wallpaper in Dorothy's room were something I'd never noticed before.

I'm a sucker for almost anything 3D, and wish I didn't have to drive all the way to Kansas City to see it in Imax.  My husband doesn't care for 3D, and Dewdrop is too little, so I usually only go when it is just Sugarwings along with me. She and I are both enthralled by them. And when you couple 3D Imax with a classic movie favorite of ours- woo hoo! What a night.  Her mommy (who can recite the whole script in her sleep) came to, so it was Girls Night Out for us. 

A BIG Girls Night Out for me, because after I dropped off my kiddos, I hit the town with some friends for a wild night of...

Well, just sitting and talking at a quiet restaurant.

  When we discussed where to go for the evening, the consensus was, somewhere that we could hear each other. No place loud. 

It was so nice. What an ideal evening.  Two nights out in one night.