Karla's Cottage

The last Sugarplum fairies of the decade, a look back at the year, and a giveaway

Oh my, that is true, we are not just near the end of the year, it is the end of a decade!

My year is ending with a blast, I have loved hunkering down in the studio and making Sugarplum Fairy after fairy after fairy.

And I am thankful for all of the people who bought them for me so that I could indulge in my love of crafting these gals.

It has been a mixed year for me.  Lots of wonderful moments and people, lots of injury and heartache and worry.

It is odd that a year can be soooo good, but yet so bad at the same time.  

Teaching at Karen's Cozy Castle, and at Jenn Hayslip's retreat, seeing family members from far away, and having a studio full of Peeps come to see me a couple of times this year made up for a lot of the problems I have had.

It is hard to be too down about a minor skull fracture, multiple concussions, and other aches and pains when I have so many positives in my life too.

U

The break up of my son's family and the draining work of getting their house on the market was heart wrenching.  But having little Dewdrop come back for Christmas eases that pain. And while my son and his littlest girl now live across the country, I am adjusting. And still have the other 3 grand fairies with me.  We are trying to get back to family dinners with the group, and while it is a change to not have two of our people, there is still a lot of love on those nights.

And seriously, how lucky and blessed were we to have an uptick in the local real estate market just as we finished the remodelling of the house we had bought for my son's family and to get out from under that mortgage in less than a week? We worked our asses off to make it happen for weeks, but yes, it did work out. 

We could have been stuck with an empty house to take care of and keep up all winter.

My husband's early retirement also threw me for a loop. But we are adjusting and he is the happiest he has ever been in his life.

Life is all about changes and how you deal with them.  Honestly, I did NOT deal well with having to do so much to that house to get it sold, and with the family splitting up.

Did I mention that my husband unexpectedly retired that week and that I also had my hormones cut in half at the same time? But I got through it, and did what was needed to make things work. 

(I have since found out that my rotator cuff was torn and my bicep tendon was ruptured at the time, so that makes me feel better now about being so whiny while painting ceilings then! I am now in PT for those injuries.)

I have had beautiful trips with people I love (even though I came home with a concussion twice).

I have had dozens of fun and caring Peeps here at the cottage.

I have had a nest full of puppies to cheer me up with snuggles at the end of a long day of repainting a house we were afraid we were stuck with, but were not.

I had the joy of running through the waves with Sugarwings, splashing through Disney in the rain and laughing with all four girls, making seashell fairies on 4 beaches to leave as thank yous for the beauty of the trip.

I have had people let me down, but others show so much caring that I could get past the hurt of the let downs.

And I have had the joy of making all of these Sugarplum fairies. What a happy way to end the year.  I was so thrilled to see that they sold so quickly, and while this is kind of late to be adding more to the Boutique, I had a lot of happiness go into making each and every one whether they sell or not.  

2019 has been eventful.

These fairies might seem like a silly little thing to be so emotional about, but a lot of healing went into the creation of them. 

I would like to share the cheer.  Please leave a comment if you want to be entered to win a fairy of your own.  

(You can also enter on FB and IG)

 

Vintage Wallpaper Art Journals and a giveaway

Here are some of the wallpaper journals available in the Boutique now.  Each comes with a scrap pack of more of the great, old paper for you to use as you create in your new journal. 

And if you leave a comment here, or on my Facebook post announcing the giveaway, you can be entered to win some of this wonderful,1920s paper. 

I will be out in Wyoming visiting family for a few days, so shipping will be Wednesday, March 21st.  Thank you for looking!

 

Girlfriends' Craft Day, Birdsong Talk, and an Easter Giveaway

My friend, Tami, hosted another craft day recently, it was great to catch up with Birdsong Peeps. And it always means the world to me, to see the friendship between these ladies, that started with Birdsong!  That just made me miss all of the "Birdsong Ladies" (as Sugarwings calls them) even more.

Sooooooo........ I'm most likely planning another one....... how about- "A Snowbird's Song" in November?  Just in time to make an elegant necklace to wear with your little black dress at holiday parties, some table top festive pretties, perhaps a banner and a smattering of ornies for the tree?

I'm thinking November 10-11.  More details when sign ups are set to go.....soon!  

Crafting at Tami's workroom just drove home to me, what a gathering of arty, happy, creative types can do for the soul.  Making things together with my Peeps brings me a sense of community, gives me soooo many new ideas, learned from others in the group, and just plain old makes me grin.

I miss doing that in my studio!

Our day was full of joy, laughter, and creativity.  I was on a roll, pumping out one project after another.  Here are just a few, this peat pot is decked out then filled with a bunny Tami gifted me with and is placed into a snow globe that I redo for different holidays.

More peat pots and baskets were decorated and filled, as well as the large blue egg with bunny inside, pictured at the top of the post, and this egg covered in old ledger paper and foofed with a vellum bunny and lace.  

I've been making these sugared eggs too.  Some, I've decorated with, some I've given away.

Do you want one? Leave a comment here or on my Facebook post and I'll draw a few names, and drop these little confections into the mail in celebration of hatching my  Snowbird plans!

ps- There are a few sugared eggs for sale in the Boutique too.

Sugared Eggs for Sale and as gifts

I know Easter is rather close, but there is still time for decorating, right?

So, I added some of these sugared eggs to the Boutique.

They come in two and three packs, some have foofed up, vintage baskets.

And some are gifts!

Yep, I'll share the eggs with a few giveaways, in honor of the plans I am "hatching" for A Snowbird's Song in November.

Please leave a comment on this post, or the previous one, or on Facebook.

New in the Boutique and some back patting

I'm super impressed with myself.

It's only been a week, but I've been sticking with my plan to update the Boutique.

Not only adding some new things every couple of days, I've been deleting things as they sell.

That might not sound like a big deal, but after months of letting my poor little shop languish into nothingness and disappear into the interwebs void, I vowed to nurture and care for it and beg it to stay with me after it was restored.

 I'd been out of the habit of working on the site for..............

let's say, a looooooonnnng time.

 

So, I've tried to make it a new habit (from an old habit of days gone by) to spend some time at the computer each day to keep my promise to myself.

So far, so good.

 Please forgive my self bragging, but I have to admit that I've been pretty dang proud of myself for meeting my goal and if I compliment myself now,  that might encourage me to keep up the good work.  

I honestly missed my little shop for the last year (and more) so it feels good to get back to packing up pretty parcels of goodies to ship out.

Thanks for bearing with me as I pat myself on the back, for listening to my woes and worries while the Boutique was missing, and for shopping in it now that it is back.  I appreciate it!

(There are 8 pages of markdown goods, of 50% or more to look through as well as new things being added)

As a Thank You for  listening to me blab, and for shopping with me too- please check my previous post on how to get a free printable of this hand drawn coloring page with a Valentine theme.

If you need even more coloring in your life, check out this old book in the Boutique too!

Not only have I got the Boutique up and running again, I am beginning to add to my Etsy shop too!

I made sooooo many bracelets, that even though I've sold quite a few (thank you very much), there is not a dent in the inventory yet. I still have a big tray full of them to photograph.

I was on quite a roll with those, huh? It was an addiction. I had to have an intervention with myself, because I would still be at it if I could!

Rolling with it

Thank you for all of your kind words about Ryan.  He is doing remarkably well and has no permanent damage.  But will be on meds all of his life so this doesn't happen again.

And thanks for your encouragement to me not to feel guilty. I think most of us understand Mom Guilt. It stays with you. 

My husband said my last blog post sounded like I was giving myself a pity party.  He is probably right, I've turned into a mushy mess, now that the crisis is past. 

It's been an odd year for me, with upheavals (good and bad), no real routine to settle into, and lots of trips.  Change doesn't always settle well with me, I'm a stick in the mud, homebody type.  I'm ready for some monotonous, day to day, regular boring days.  Ha!  Like that will happen....

In the meantime, I guess I'll keep rolling with the waves.

It's past due for me to announce my two giveaway winners.  The charming little novel goes to:

A surprise winner.... I have her address from something else, so I will just drop this in the mail and surprise her with it.  I'll let you know who it was later on.

And for Carol's generous giveaway of an entry to Jeanne's online seminar? The winner is this comment:

 

I would love to win this awesome class! The book sounds awesome, too. I'd love to win either. Thank you for the opportunity! Mona

 

Mona, I'll give your info to Carol and she will contact you.  I know she is out of town this week, so don't think she has forgotten you if you don't hear from her right away. 

 

 

More Hawaii, less cash and the giveaway winners

It was nice to come home to the puppeesh, I'd missed the Twin Terrier Terrors. And the grand fairies. I've been making up for lost time with plenty of snuggles since I got home. 

Here i am trying to gracefully pose by a waterfall, and I slipped just as the photo was being taken.

Its not easy to go from Paradise to real life, so I've eased into it with playtime with the kiddos and finishing my travel journal.  Yes, I know, I should be back to work, but it's taking me some time to get into gear.  Maybe next week I'll have some new goods for the Boutique.  I really do need to beef up my pay pal account, we went broke in Hawaii.

Literally, out of money!

We had no idea that there would be so many cash only places. Plus tips were cash only for classes and couldn't be added to the credit card when the class was paid for. And the surfing instructor wouldn't even take a card for the class itself.

Before the trip, we'd just gotten new debit cards and changed our password, and then promptly forgot it.  And we never do cash advances on our credit card, so didn't have that pin number handy either.  We arrived on Thursday and realized by Saturday that we were low on cash.

Then we also realized it was a three day weekend and we couldn't get ahold of the bank. Luckily, we had my pay pal business account, but unluckily, I'd transferred cash from it to our checking account for the trip and had only a couple hundred left in it!

In Hawaii, that isn't much more than an afternoon's spending.

We came up with a plan where my husband could go to my online store and buy a bunch of tutorials from me to refill the account if needed, or we could wait till Tuesday to get hold of the bank after President's Day.

But by Tuesday, we were pretty much done with lesson type activities and souvenir shopping. We were were ready to roll on the Road to Hana and visit the volcano the next day, so we had a couple of days where we did okay without much cash on had. 

If we ever go back to Hawaii, I will know to pack one suitcase full of money and one full of light sweaters and wind breakers. (this single white sweater that I brought was kind of grimy by the end of the week, and I had to buy a hoodie. Somewhere that took credit cards)

Thanks to everyone who left a comment to enter the drawings for Amy's books. The winners are:

Charlotte

and

Mitzi

PS- the Valentine Journal Workshop is this Saturday and I have PLENTY of room for more students. email me for details if interested. I would love to see you here....

I found Hat Heaven (and the giveaway winner)

Our trip to NC was just perfect. 

A highlight  was a shopping day with my sis-in-law.

Actually, we had TWO fun afternoons of junking.  Our first was at the Vintage Village, and I was captivated the minute we got out of the car.

And the best part of it all was Susanna's Antiques, where I went to meet my blog friend, Jenny.

She and her mom have a cute as a bug shop together- filled with too much to fit in my suitcase...

(yep, my eyes are closed in this photo, of course)

Another friend, Becca, took a break from work, and came by to visit too.

The mall was just wonderful. If I needed a light fixture, I'd be looking there for it. They had the best selection of old chandies at good prices that I have seen in a long, long time.

And the atmosphere of the whole area was just plain fun.  I loved all the little cottages and piles of junk out doors amid the plants and flowers. The best part was a fresh fruit stand where we bought ripe Carolina peaches and washed them in a garden hose to eat while we walked around.

I had some great food while on our trip, but those peaches were hard to beat.

Then, I saw the hats.  Hats, hats, hats everywhere!!!!!!!!!

Hat Heaven.

If you need floral hats, head to see Jenny. But wait a bit, I cleaned her out for now. 

Don't worry, she has plenty of other pretty things to buy.

I don't know why I didn't buy this print. 

But I did snag this story book for my grand fairies.

Jenny had some of her work there for sale too, she makes these vintage brooch bouquets for brides.

And how sweet is this?  This bracelet was a gift from her. 

The next day, my sis-in-law, Sandy, and I went to the flea. There is one every weekend at the fair grounds, and it was a good one.  I bought a ton more flowers and hats, as well as bags full of broken rhinestoney jewelry. 

I bought so many hats, that I had to pull all the flowers off to make them fit into my suitcase. Sandy was horrified, she collects old hats and thought I was too ruthless.  But she ended up helping, and we sat on the balcony of her son's home drinking wine, plucking hats and playing with her little Yorkies.

 

Now that we are home, Sandy, Dixie, and Daisy have come to stay with us for a while.  They'll be good for Twinkle, she misses her Agnes Rosebud.

That is, if she doesn't try to rip their cute, fuzzy heads off. She doesn't like many dogs.

After a few days with family in Raleigh, we drove to the Outer Banks.  This was a work trip for my husband, I was just tagging along, which is a nice way to travel. For me at least, my poor husband had to work all day while I goofed off on the beach.

He was able to be done working in time for romantic walks on the beach, and watching the sunset on the sound. Then, stuffing ourselves with locally caught seafood.

We stayed in Duck, NC and it was a very peaceful, quiet beach.  I wonder why there weren't more people there? It was beautiful.

Oh, I forgot to announce the winner of my giveaway!!  This collage goes to:

Linda Owen Postma

Beads, Baubles, and peas

This is the last of the four Tiffanys projects that I made in Cali.  It was in my pal, Lonnie's class.

I brought quite a few of my own supplies, including the blue enamelled flower along with me, but she provided high quality, pretty things to work with too. 

As a matter of fact, between what she gave us in the kits and what I brought, I was able to make two necklaces in her class.  I didn't really master the techniques she was teaching, I kind of went off on my own, but she was a good teacher and had a great way of doing her examples that made it easy to follow.

One of the necklaces that I made will be for me to keep, and the other is a birthday gift for a dear freind.

This post was written before I went to Raleigh and Nags Head, and as I am writing it, I am snacking on the latest dish from my Summer of Salads. 

Its a pea salad, that you can make with fresh, farmer's mkt peas, or frozen ones right from the bag.

• about a 1/2 bag of peas
• 1/2 a sweet red pepper, chopped
• about 1/2 cup of chopped purple cabbage
• 1/2 a sweet Vidalia onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup of fat free feta cheese crumbles
• 6 boiled eggs, chopped (mine were straight from the hen house!)
• sea salt, garlic powder, and pepper to taste
• olive oil based mayo, enough to moisten (I don't like a lot of dressing, so added mine a couple spoonfuls at a time till it looked right)

Another salad for the week was a simple fruity one.

• one honey dew, cubed
• one quart of strawberries, halved
• juice of one lime
• drizzle of agave syrup
• a splash of pomegranate juice
• two sprigs of mint leaves

My latest obsession is mint sprigs. Especially in this concoction-

• one can of lime selzter water
• a 1/4 packet of drink powder
• pour over a pretty glass filled with ice
• add a pink straw
• top with mint leaves

I sure don't miss Diet Coke when I have one of these in my hands. I used to think that those drink powder packets were silly. Why not just buy a drink already made up? They are meant for bottled waters, and I really thought it was ridiculous to buy a drink twice. The water, then the powder.

But, I got a sample of them, and took some along on my last trip and they are nice to have around and taste pretty good. Especially if you use club soda with them, and only a tiny part of the packet at a time, I usually get four drinks from one. And since I usually mix my soda with juice anyway, it doesn't feel extravagant to mix this in like it would if I used it in a bottle of water.

  
Please remember to leave a comment if you want to be entered into the drawing for a collage giveaway. 

And if you know of any good junking areas around Raleigh or Nags Head please email me with some shopping ideas!

[email protected]

 

 

Discoveries

Since Sugarwings and I will be spending a lot of the summer together, I needed to find some things for us to do that didn't involve baking and eating cookies.

Although lately, "cookie" is her favorite word and she yells it out when she is happy, instead of "yay" or "wow" or "yippee".  (does anyone use the word, yippee, any more, anyway?)

So last week, we set out to discover the Discovery Zone in Topeka.

There are lots of hands on (and noses on), sciencey things to do there.

As well as full rooms set up as different professions, and all the toys and tools needed to pretend to work there.

Kind of like a trade school for preschoolers.

There was even an exam room where Dr. Sugarwings could take my blood pressure, then cram a big plastic thermometer into my ear.

But our favorite part was this big acrylic room where you paint right onto the walls. 

The whole place was really something, and only a 20 minute drive away. I can see us spending a lot of time there this summer on days too hot or too wet to play outside.  And its only 6 bucks to get in.

The place had a lot to offer, she was able to make friends and play with other kids. There were a lot of activities that needed an assistant (like the grain elevator) and that encouraged cooperation.  I sat aside and let her play with other kids while I read a book on my magic phone when I wasn't required to be a patient or place an order in the bakery.   We both had a great time!

 

 I am away right now, tagging along on a business trip with my husband to Raleigh and Nags Head.  But please do leave a comment, all comments are entered to win one of the collages that I made from Beth's Birdsong class.

And if you know of any good junking areas around Raleigh or Nags Head please email me with some shopping ideas!

[email protected]