Karla's Cottage

Under a magic spell

I really, really, really loved making things for Good Juju for Halloween!

I have collages, dolls, witchy hats, jewelry, mushrooms, ballerina bats (yes, that’s right, ballerina bat skeletons),  signs, painted pumpkins, and my possibly fave- magic potion bottles.

For years, I have been tossing any vintage items I find that seem fitting for this season, into a drawer.  It was quite full of tempting treats to turn into my fun creations.

I found it so inspiring to have an eclectic mix of ephemera and goodies to dig through.

No two came out the same, since I was working with so many originals bits of vintagey goodness.  I had some photos that I’d copied, but the rest is all aged.

While I was at it, I whipped up a few hand made pumpkins too.

Here are some used as bottle toppers.

I went overboard.

A bit.  

As I do.

There is probably enough inventory for next year too.  I should add some to my online shop, but I will be teaching at Jenn’s fantastic event in Charleston mid October, so might not have time to get any listed in time for Halloween. 

Now it is time to halt my spooky endeavors and switch to Christmas.

Which isn’t a problem, I adore creating sparkling pretties for that holiday too.  

It is hard to put away all of the supplies for October, and to stop myself from making way, way, too much of this stuff.  I’ve been on a roll.

Knowing me, I will be every bit as much obsessed with  as happy to  make things for the next holiday. 

I’ve been saving up Christmas ephemera and supplies too.  I have a feeling that crafting with those is  going to be taking over my life soon.

I’m excited just thinking about it!

And it is extra nice to have a reason to make things, after quarantine and Ryan’s death.  I hadn’t had much inclination to create in volume like this.

Halloween Jewels

For Halloween, I went all out on the theming for my booth at Good Juju.  Including some necklaces I made.

Lots of them!

Most are just kinda themed for the spooky season, but would be fine all year, but some are full on ghostly or witchy.

See what I mean?  Very nice as a moody piece to wear with a black dress in October, but still pretty for the rest of the calendar.

A nice accent to wear for for Halloween.

For this season, I planned to have enough of this type of merchandise for the September and October sales weekends.

Oh, and if you need the perfect dress to wear with this jewelry, I have that too.

I’d never have had the audacity to paint blood splatters onto a Victorian silk dress in such beautiful condition myself.  But I was thrilled to see that someone else did and I snapped it up to add some atmosphere to my space. It’s pretty cool, I kinda want to wear it to the annual zombie walk here in Lawrence.

Juju Preview

In my last post I mentioned that I got my booth set up at Good Juju before my trip to Indy.  I have more to add, and hopefully will get it there before the sale this Friday and Saturday. 

My Halloween theme is in full force, with pumpkins and witches everywhere.

I especially love these old sign letters that I found on a junking morning with the Guncles.  I’ve made BAT, EEK, BOO, and CROW with them.

And of course, more mushies in fall and Halloween colors.   Thank you to everyone who bought my tutorial to make their own.  Please send pics when you do!  

If you’d like to make one, you can find them here.

There are handmade witchy hats too.

Plus vintage things, of course.

With a spooky turn to them.

As you can tell, I have embraced fall colors.  Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate their beauty and have e corporates them into my style.

I hope you’ll be in to visit for the show!  Please drop by my booth to say hello if you do.

There are still all sorts of things I need to tag and bring in yet, so this isn’t all of it.

 

 

Painted pumpkins up close

In my previous post, I mentioned that I’d been painting pumpkins for the Good Juju sale  

As things tend to do with me, yep, this became another obsession.

I spent quite a few days painting one canvas after another.  I’d probably still be doing that if I hadn’t had to get ready for the big family reunion that we hosted.

I was on a roll, and loving every minute of it.  I was painting fat punkins, tall punkins, some on paint pour canvases, some on collage backgrounds.

Then I started stacking them.

And adding flowers.

Lots of flowers.

Sitting at my desk and doing one after another was pure joy for me.  Luckily, we had to harvest our honey and peaches, then be ready for guests, because I needed to get away from these, I think I had plenty.  They are all at Juju now, today is the last day of the August sale.  It would be nice if I sold a few, if not, I’ll be displaying them for fall shows too.

(All are under $50, if you happen to need a pumpkin and are visiting the Old West Bottoms)

 

My second wall at Good Juju is ready for it’s first run

This Friday and Saturday are the Good Juju sales date for August, and I am enjoying having a bit more space this go around.

Rich added the shelf up above for me.  It is higher than the one on my other wall. I’d say it’s more decorative than shoppable, although the things on it are priced.  Still, it’s more for atmosphere than selling.  

But isn’t atmosphere part of selling?  It is for me.   


Here is the upper shelf on my opposite wall.

I have painted some pumpkins to add this month.  It’s 100 degrees and humid here, a typical KS day in August, but not too soon to start daydreaming about cooler, autumn days, right?

Some of the pumpkins are done on pour painted canvasses. 

And some have flowers.

I’ve also packed in my mushroom colony and have lots of jewelry too.

 I hope it goes well, I love having a reason to make things!

 

Adding real estate to an antique mall booth, things are looking up!

Well, it didn’t take me long to become infatuated with the antiquing world after a few years off.  I haven’t had booth space since 2009, or so, besides a few pop up Birdsong shops in my garage, and when I quit, it took me years to get over the itch to buy junk to redo and repurpose.  I very much loved the business.

Over time, I got out of the habit of getting up early every weekend for garage sales and stopped yearning for ugly little tables to transform into cuties and even started clearing my house and storage out.  Goodwill, friends, and family got all of my back stock when I cleaned out.

My friends still had spaces and sometimes I’d get my redo fix by helping them paint something or redecorate a booth.  Finally, I gave in and joined them full time by taking on a wall at Good Juju at the Old West Bottoms.  I was very, very worried about finding enough to fill it, since I’d gotten myself down to bare bones and had nothing to bring in.  But a couple months of very hard work and hunting built my stash up enough that now, I’m taking on a second wall.

 It is also thanks to Beth, as my first wall was.  She had a bit more space than she needed, and offered to share.  We’ve been partners in the past, and mesh well together, plus have lots of giggle fits and fun while doing it.

When I painted my original wall, I also painted a couple for her, and this is one of them. Here is how it looked when I took it over this week.

I like the color I’d chosen for it, so that worked out well for me.  But I wanted it completed, without spending any money, so had my dear, helpful husband come in with me to add a shutter over the vertical missing plywood, and I covered poster board in heavy vintage wallpaper to cover the horizontal hole.  It wasn’t quite enough, so we patched with a piece of ceiling tin and then a strip of leftover trim to finish it off.

Did I mention that my husband has been soooooooo supportive and sweet?

He also hung 3 chandeliers, put in a French door, hung a vintage window over my wall, and then made a shelf from hinged shutters.

The shutter shelf looked so good, I texted Beth to see if she wanted one on her wall too.  So he put one up from a pile of shutters she had, and it immediately split and all the slats spilled out. 

oops

But, I mentioned she had quite a few, right?  So he pulled out heavier duty ones and switched them out.  I’m glad it all worked, because they add so much to the space.  For one thing, it extends our real estate, and we are making the best use of the area.  For another, it just plain old looks good, and hopefully will bring people in.

With having this area to fill too, we are making the most of these tall walls and grabbing more spots to sell from.

Juju is such a cool place, people always come in, and there are so many dealers very talented with styling and design, so it’ll be nice if we can grab a little more attention.  Beth has amazing finds and a great eye, so already has her regulars, but I could use a few of my own.

I know that poster board isn’t a very durable way to build a wall, unless maybe you are the 4th little pig and were left out of the story because it is even dumber than straw.  But it was efficient and looks fine. I can change it any time I want, pretty quickly.  But, so little of it shows, I probably won’t bother.

The French doors were some I used in the studio at home, and I also had the wallpaper (of course) but struggled to figure out a quick, cheap way to get it up over the hole in the wall.  Then, I noticed that I had pieces of poster board on my table at my work space, and thought I’d try using that, by glueing the paper to it and stapling it to the boards. 

It seems fine.  We will see if it holds up.  

Now that I have committed to more space, I am slightly freaked out.  Honestly, I love the venue, hanging with my pals, and decorating the space, but I do worry about the time and commitment of keeping the space filled throughout the winter when there are no garage sales.  I hope to be able to make jewelry and some other creations, not just hunt and gather. 

Please wish me luck.  I think I could use a bit of my own good juju.

 

 

 

Ready for First Friday at Good Juju

My space at the mall isn’t large, but it can sure hold a lot.

So much so that I was very surprised at how much I packed in.  

The lower shelf on that table might not look very full, but that is because I am bringing in sterling silver jewelry, that needs to be kept packed up so it won’t tarnish.  On Friday morning, that shelf will be as overfilled as the rest of the set up.  

See what I mean?  

Hopefully, it will tempt guests into wanting to treasure hunt and dig through.

This month, I was set up and ready way early, and did it all in one trip.  Previously, I was just getting settled and figuring out my space.  I had painting and construction to do, and wasn’t quite sure how things were going to fit. Between the concussion that was still lingering, and being overwhelmed trying to figure it all out from scratch,  I was, well, like I said - overwhelmed.

But now that my head is better, thanks to PT and time, and possibly the CBD oils gifted to me by Treadwell Farms, I am ready to enjoy the process and have fun being with the creative people around me at the venue.  Man, that concussion made me feel flat.  And like I kinda had tunnel vision.  I could only barely focus on what was just right in front of me.  

I’m feeling more like myself now, but still not quite right.

While getting ready for my first month here, while I was still in pretty bad shape was it pretty tough, it was worth it.  I am very excited to be a part of Juju, and am already looking forward to planning set ups for fall and for the holidays.  

If you are in the area, come by and say hi. I am downstairs and to the right.  

There is so much to see in this big mall, and in the surrounding warehouses, it is quite an event.  

Good Ju Ju

1420 W. 13th Ter

Kansas City, Mo. 64102

816-421-1930

 

A lesson learned in the past, that I am remembering as I set up my Good Juju booth

Hmmm, now I am wondering why I spent so much time remaking my wall, when you don’t even see it.  Yep, this spot is FULL.

Adding the “porch” awning allowed me to really overfill.  I love that structure that Rich built for me, even if it got buried and is now hidden.

One reason that I am excited to join the Good Juju venue, is that while it is full of wonderful antiquities and awesome junk, there are also handmade items and lots of artwork.  

All of my favorite things, so right up my alley!

I’ll be having hand painted furniture, vintage paper collage, old stuff, painted signs and canvases, and some jewelry.

These necklaces are my “Recycled Charms”, pendants made of bits of jewelry I have collected over the years.

This side of the door holds sterling silver with genuine stones.

If all goes well, this can be a place where I can indulge my creative whims.

While I am kinda rusty on the antique mall biz, and it’s been a while since I had a booth, I did set up my garage as a shop during Birdsong events, so I stayed, somewhat in the commerce world.

I’m hoping I’m just a little rusty, not completely out of it.

No matter how long I’ve been away, there is one rule that will never leave me- I will NOT willy nilly buy things just because I think they will sell. I’ll only offer goods in my booth that I would want for myself, in my own home, and stay with my own sense of style. 

For one thing, you never know what you’ll get stuck with, so I have things I like just in case they do end up at my own home later on.  My house is furnished right now with leftovers that did not sell.

Also, with a small spot, I need to be able to coordinate the items and have a flow.  Although I do have to admit, that I’ve packed so much into this little corner that the flow could look more like a log jam, huh?

I feel like everything I add to the spot should give me a little tug, one that says, “Hey, don’t sell that!  Think how great it would look on my living room wall! Or in the studio!  Or hey- I can make something with that!”

Please wish me luck, it might take me a while to find my niche at this mall.  For now, I’m throwing all my faves into the spot and seeing how it goes. 

A redo at Juju

 
I have been busy.  Way busy.

My upstairs spot at Good Juju was not quite the right fit for me.  Plus, my friends were downstairs and I wanted to be near them.  Beth offered to share, but I am not ready for a big space, so she offered me a sixth of her big area and that was just ideal! And she let me do some remodeling while she was on vacation.

She also got some solid walls added. Our friend, Sam, covered bare 2x4s with paneling so I could paint them, and I used some of the leftover colors to paint the back of this display too.

The new walls are neutral shades of blue, green and grey.  On the back wall, to cover an old garage door, we hung a 9x12 canvas and way up high, added some homemade grapevine wreaths.  I covered the table this hutch sits on with a burlap skirt and added a strip cut from a lace curtain across it so the bright light bulbs don’t bother anyone’s eyes with their glare.

Beth also offered to share this spot, it is her craft supply corner, and I added a few tidbits to the display after setting it up.

Here is Sam, hard at work, making the walls. They really add a lot to the area.

Here is a before, or I guess, a during shot.  With Sam building wall to the right, and my darling husband building a shelf/porch awning for my wall to the left.

In the back, you can see the before of the garage door wall.

This is a close up.  It looks a little sad here, but Beth is so good with displaying her great finds, that honestly, you didn’t even notice it before.  Still, I’m pretty happy with the streamlined look that the canvas drop cloth gave the room.  It was $10, and simply nailed to the wall above the garage door windows.  But, it let light shine in weirdly.  So I had to go behind it and nail cardboard over the panes of glass.

Here it is with fresh paint, back wall covered, wreaths in place, and a picket fence hung from the ceiling to cover some grids.

The wreaths are huge!  Sugarwings and Rich pulled the vines down from trees in our woods, and we wrangled them into shape together.  It was harder to do than you’d think, you really need to man handle those thick vines to convince them they want to be in a circle.

After the thickest pieces were twisted into each other, we secured them with a bit of wire.  Then, I started weaving smaller pieces in and out to fill in.  I don’t know if you can tell just how big these (very heavy) guys are, but the largest is about 4’tall.

Here is another in progress photo, before the wreaths and picket fence. My wall is gray.

And I am sooooo happy with how it turned out!  The porch columns give it a sense of structure, so I feel like I have a real spot of my own, not just a wall.  And the door on the front will give me space to hang jewelry that I have made.  

And the shelf!!!  

So much can fit onto that wonderful shelf!  If you don’t have much square footage, go UP.  Use the air space, right?

Here is a cleaned, but not finished pic of the spot.  Beth and I were going to work on it after her trip, but she got sick.  So Angie, our delightful neighbor, helped move furniture with me, and I rearranged things as much as I could.  Beth will bring in more before the sale and add to it quite a bit.

I had told myself  that I wouldn’t set up too much of her area, but hey- that’s the fun part!

So, I am guilty of doing a few displays… with the knowledge that she will probably remake them when she comes back.  But on the other hand, this way, she doesn’t have any pressure to come in if she isn’t up to it.  It’s okay as is, if she needs more time.

My wall needs more work, there are changes I want to make.  I’ve kept a black tub underneath the table for storage, and the lace on it stands out to much.  I need a plain, dark cloth over it so it disappears.  And I probably have too much hanging from the shelf.  It went from full to cluttered. 

For now, I’m headed to Florida for a rare, springtime sister trip.  My plan is to rest my poor head and recover from this concussion.  My doctor says I have been over doing it and while I hate to admit that, I agree.  I have felt awful throughout this whole escapade and look forward to a quiet week with dark glasses on to rest up.

Good Juju

I’ve been so busy getting ready for my first First Friday at the West Bottoms.

Lots and lots of painting!

And jewelry making.

And sorting, tagging, cleaning, marking tending, wrapping, and more.

My decision to set up there was kind of spur of the moment, and I was not prepared, so had to go into overdrive to get it done.

Because of my concussion, it has been rough.  One day was about ten hours of tiny, little price tags.

Yes,TEN HOURS.

By the end of it I was a wreck, too much time of using my eyes for up close work.

All of it is stuff I love to do, but I have to admit, that it was a struggle and wasn’t as enjoyable as it should’ve been.  If I’d known that the confusion, eye strain, and headaches would linger like they have, I probably would’ve skipped this month.  

I really am excited to be there and honored to get a spot.  It’s a great venue.

I am just not myself right now.  I’m a pretty sad, sore, tired version of me.  Which is too bad because this endeavor is a major change in my life and I am not experiencing it to its fullest, instead, I am just coping and trying to get through it.

Come by and visit if you can.  I could use a smile from a friend!

Actually the place is full of nice people, old friends, and new buddies.  This is Beth’s booth.

As is this.

 

And Angie’s.

And these deliciously scented strawberry sundaes are made by Lily, next door to Beth.

I know I am going to love it there once things get back to normal.  And for now, I am just going to do my best to get through it, then go home and nap.  
Ugh, I’m tired of feeling bad.