Karla's Cottage

Ghoulish Guncle Goofiness, and some bootiful Halloween decor

During our Sister Trip to Florida, we took a jaunt up north to Jax and the Land of Guncles.

Where we were met with the typical Guncle charm and hospitality, and an added dose of creepiness.

We were greeted by this sign.

Their welcoming home was in its full, Fall glory.

With ghouls, goblins, witches, and more.

So, we decided we needed to fit in with our surroundings and got out the face paints.

I went Pink.

Sissy got some purple witchiness going on.

While Guncle Randy embraced his inner warlock and went full on, goblin green.

Lovely Lily didn't need to change colors, she has a pretty, autumn glow year round with her auburn hair.

The guys had the house foofed up to the hilt.

It is always an honor to see my artwork making it into some of their displays.

Randy's art was prominent too.  

Here are pages from a Romantic Gothic Ghost art journal he did.

The house was creepy, cool, and very well done.

Our pal, Regina, made this banner.

 

No detail was neglected.

I'll leave you with a few more pics from our fun night there.  

 

 

A Hocus Pocus Trip and a Sandy Winifred Sanderson with Seashell Teeth

Our sister trip to Florida was Sanderson Sister themed all the way.

So, when I found these "teeth" on the beach, I had to make myself into Winifred with the seashell in my mouth. 

(And looky!! I found SEA GLASS  too!! It was a treasure trove of unique goodies from the sea on Vilano Beach)

When I was done playing with the shell teeth, I used them to make a sandy Winifred Sanderson.

There were also a ton of black shells, which lent themselves well to making a sea witch.  Her broom is a palm frond.  I'm afraid black shells don't photograph well, it really did look cuter in person.

Our whole trip was Hocus Pocus themed, and we started off at Disney to go to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and watch the Sanderson Sister Villain Spectacular. 

The lighting on the castle was pretty durn spectacular!

To save wear and tear on our backs, we rented a stroller to haul our extras around in (you never know when you'll need a jacket or an umbrella at Disneyworld) and for a name tag, I wrote in 

"Sanderson"

Of course.

And I witchied up our magic bands with Sharpies and glitter nail polish. (Why wear a plain band when you can transform one easily with a waterproof sharpie?)

We needed a Spell book to carry. I painted canvas bags for each of us with the witches' book on one side.

The other side had our name and a witch hat.

All three were a bit different, but all had plenty of glitter. I think we left a trail everywhere we went.

I was thrilled with every second of the Halloween Party and hated to see it end at midnight.  I'd love more than anything else to go back for the upcoming Christmas party and take my grand fairies.

But as my husband says, it is excessive to be flying to Disney every few weeks....

Even though there is a Christmas party that just happens to fall on a day she is out of school for a 3 day weekend, and I have free airline ticket points and enough Disney Credit Card points for the park tickets, and could take the free Disney transportation... we would just have to pay for hotel and food, and heck a person needs to eat wherever you happen to be, right????

Sooooooooo tempting, but- he is right. I think it is bordering on greedy, and spoiled to even contemplate a return so soon.  Still, it is fun to think about.  

(by the way, the Chase Disney credit cards give you a $200 gift card just for signing up.  And a percentage back to spend on anything Disney, including movie tickets at AMC)

 

 

Our Annual Sister Trip is Starting with Some Disney Magic!

This morning, I'll be meeting my sisses in Orlando for the beginning of our annual Sister Trip to Florida. This year, we are doing something different, instead of visiting Sarasota, (home of our late grandmother).  

We are going to Disney World!

Bobbie and I are thrilled. Sissy is being open to the idea and I hope we win her over and she enjoys it as much as we do.

And yes, I do Love, Love, Love going to the amusement parks.  If you are counting, this is my 3rd trip this year...  And I am definitely an adult (sorta).  This is the second sister trip this year, I went with Terry for my birthday, and then with the grandfairies after our Disney cruise, also, uhm, for my birthday.  

60 is shaping up to be a good year for indulging in trips and visiting the Mouse. 

ps- I'll be away for a good, long time, this is a ten day trip (only a couple to the parks) Anything ordered from my Bootique or Etsy shop will be mailed on the 24th. Thank you for your patience.

 

Florida Friends with Flowing Paint and eating from field to fork

While Karen, Regina, and Randy were here from Florida, we got together at the Cottage for some flow painting.  I showed them how to make an ocean scene.

And we made some book covers.

They all got messy with me, and we poured paints in the garage.

This is a "swipe" technique. The colors go on over black paint, then more black paint is drizzled over it, and swiped across to make a pretty design. The paint needs to dry for a while, when it is done, I'll assemble the books, and show you how it turned out.

Here is Guncle Randy's other painting.

WOW.

I love it. 

I wonder if he will notice if it isn't in the box I am mailing to him when the paint dries....

I'd planned a lunch for us and was happy to have a chance to use the fall tablecloth that I found at the flea market we all shopped at.

We had beef pot pie with puff pastry, salad, and rosemary garlic bread fresh from the oven.

With "paint pour" cupcakes for dessert.

But that wasn't it for the day...

Karen started her morning at 4am, dove hunting at the camp we had been visiting.

She brought them along to clean and gifted us with a whole flock.

It is not something I've ever done before, but intriguing.  There is definitely a bonus to a meal that you have hand crafted, whether from garden to table or from field to fork.

And well worth it, those doves were tender and delicious!  We soaked them in salt water for 24 hours, before marinating in Italian dressing.

While the dove breasts soaked up the flavors, we took a Labor Day spin out on the lake.

After boating, I wrapped the breasts in bacon, and my husband slow cooked them on the grill. We served it with a cauliflower mash, asparagus, fresh made bread, and a salad featuring tomatoes just picked from the garden.

Thanks, for being such a great shot, Karen! And for sharing your bounty!

 

 

A Woodland Fairy Themed Birthday Party

Sugarwings hosted her 12th birthday party at her family's Kismet Farm.  She, her sister, and I set up the cake table, and I brought a few of my things to use, as well as a stack of paper butterflies I'd gotten at an estate sale for a couple of bucks.

(I wish I'd gotten a photo of the cake her mom made, it was really something special! That lady has a magic touch with cake decor)

To go along with the woodland theme, the kids and I walked to the treeline and we gathered grapevine hanging from the trees, to craft fairy crowns and dream catchers from them.

There was a nature walk and scavenger hunt, time to play on a swing, then a picnic.

The kids got to do a circus workshop and learn some tricks.

And of course, we had marshmallows to roast for s'mores!

Our Hippy Chick brought a pile of hula hoops too.

But in my opinion, the best part of a party is to just let the kids play outside and have all the fun they can make for themselves.

There was camping for those who wanted to sleep overnight in tents, so the party favors were LED glow sticks and flashlights to play with after dark.

Walmart has these mini lights for $1 each.

We also gave out necklaces that Sugarwings and I made, using paint pours.

The cake table was outside against the covered patio wall, and we hung odds and ends of fabric remnants and curtains behind it, then layered old tablecloths and burlap onto it.  The butterflies were pinned to the fabric and it was a pretty simple set up to create and to take down.  I brought serving pieces that I already had, along with the $2 pack of butterflies, so we didn't put any money into the decor at all.

I didn't get a photo of the table with the cake or punch on it, but the cake was so cute.  And the punch was berry juice mixed with lemonade.  Sugarwings and I sliced up fruit and froze it into bowls of lemonade to make pretty ice that wouldn't dilute the punch as it melted.

What a nice evening!!

 

A Woodland Scavenger Hunt for a Birthday Party

My son and his family now have a 13 acre home in the woods, and I think Sugarwings loves it out there more than anyone. So, when it was time to plan a party for her 12th birthday, this is where she wanted to have it. She suggested a nature walk as part of the activities and I made up a scavenger hunt list (spelling her name) for the kids to take on the walk.

Her dad mowed the trails ahead of time, and we walked along them to explore the woods.

It is a pretty time of year and there was a lot to see along the way.

Sugarwings stapled the list to sandwich bags for the participants to fill with their finds.

I was struck by how beautiful the trails were, and what a wonderful piece of property he'd found. He has been working on cleaning it up and making it a retreat for yoga, permaculture, and other workshops in the future and I'm looking forward to seeing this land become a growing business as well as a home. 

And to watch the grand fairies grow up in the woods.   

Even more so, after seeing how some of the "city kids" who came to the party reacted to being there.  Many seemed unsure of how to handle themselves walking along a trail and few were able to find the items on the list. 

All of my family spends so much time connecting to nature that it didn't occur to me that some kids were uncomfortable in it and happier on their iPhones than running through the trees.

One thing I noticed that made me happy, was that every kid did find a "TREASURE" from the list on the bags.  They might not be used to woodland walks and seeing the details in nature, but they could still connect enough to know that an acorn, a rock with sparkles on it, or an empty snail shell was truly a treasure to find and keep.

And it made me so happy to know that our grand fairies, while they love screens and devices, like most of us in this world, still love being in the woods and the magic of finding a leaf with a hole in it and peeking through that peephole.

Pretty Poured Paint Pendants for a Party

Sugarwings wanted some gifts to give to her birthday party attendees, and I wanted to make something special for a gathering I am attending this week, so we saved the drippings from our last day of painting to make some necklaces.

This is how it starts.

Ugly, huh?

She laid a piece of parchment paper under her work area to catch drips, then spread the paint with a spatula so it would be thin enough to use in a pendant tray.

The name for this is ugly too. These are called "skins".  

Bleck!

But once you start looking up close, you find some lovely, little areas that are ideal for jewels.

A generous dusting of glitter went over the wet paint, then we let it dry a week.

The next step is isolate the pretty areas and place 1" glass nuggets over them.

They are glued to the paint covered parchment, cut out after the glue dries, then the parchment paper is peeled off the back and the domes are glued into pendant trays.

I use a decent sized dollop of glue, press the dome into the tray tightly, then clean off the excess glue that oozes out.

This one had a surprise heart show up.

After drying, I slide them onto a leather cord and tie slip knots onto it to make the length adjustable.

I've also tried just dipping the bottom of the glass into the paint, but I don't think it is as solid of a hold as gluing the paint skin to the nugget then gluing that to the tray. Plus you get more control over the paint this way, you can pick and chose where you want to glue the glass down.

Sugarwings also made this painting  to give as a grand prize to the scavenger hunt winner. I was proud of her work, she knew exactly what she wanted to pour and how to do it.  This is done with the end of a water bottle! We cut off the curved bottom of the bottle and placed it in the center of the canvas. Then, she slowly and carefully poured one color after another onto the bottle piece, and let the paint flow across the canvas to create petals of a flower.

This kiddo is growing up.  She is attending Jr High, taking martial arts, and has a whole new sense of self confidence to go along with her joyful, zest for life.  I'm impressed with her as well as her paintings.

 

Favorites

Today is our 33rd wedding anniversary! 

Van Go

Our town is lucky to have an organization like Van Go.  Here is a snippet from their website that will explain them better than I can:

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE KIDS.

Our Mission

---

Our Mission: To improve the lives of high-needs youth using art as the vehicle for self-expression, self-confidence, and hope for the future.

Van Go is an arts-based, social service agency that employs at-risk youth ages 14-24, to make public works of art that are sold in the community. It’s holistic, year-round programming uses the ARTS to deliver in-depth mental health support, job training, health nutrition education, and life skills lessons. Van Go’s nationally recognized programming gives troubled teens a job, real world skills and opportunity to succeed.

Our KiKi is a talented artist and she was one of the kids hired for the summer to paint a bench.  The unveiling was last week, and it was a moving ceremony with heart felt speeches that showed just how much a program like this can mean for people.

There were 20 benches debuted that day, to the sound of drum rolls and lots of oohs and ahhs.

Her client/sponsor was the Lawrence Buskerfest, which was right up her alley, since she is a participant in that event too.  She did a beautiful job encorporating portraits of some of the performers with Kansas sunflowers and the skyline of downtown Lawrence. I thought it was well planned and had a dynamic design.  

 

I'm very proud of this little grandfairy!

Happy Fourth of July!

Did you choose the weekend before or after the 4th for your celebration?

Whether you picked a weekend, had just the 4th itself, or were able to use the entire week to be on vaca/celebration mode, I hope your holiday is the

BEST!