Karla's Cottage

A little chance to do some painting

A friend posted a back to school photo of her and her mini me.  It was a perfect little snapshot of joy.

 I loved it so much, I just had to do a quick mixed media sketch of it. I will be gifting this to her next time I see her.

While my paints were out, I decided to do a rose painting for a kind soul who had gifted me with boxfuls of treasures during her de-stashing.  I could never express my full gratitude for her generosity enough.  I hope she knows how much it was appreciated.  

I wracked my brain to figure out what to send as a thank you.  Because of her major clean out, I thought she probably wouldn’t want more “stuff”, but a card was not enough.  After perusing her IG, and seeing how much she loved gardening, so I am hoping that this flower will be something she likes.

 

 

 

Distractions

While putting away my endless forest of Christmas trees, I decided to clear space in an upstairs closet to stash a tree that just did not want to go into the under stairs storage. I came across some old paintings.  This drawing was done about fifty years ago from a family photo I found at my mom’s.  But I have no idea who the people are and the piece was in the back of the closet for decades.  So I’m taking it into Good Juju to try to sell.

It can honestly be categorized as vintage!

There was an ugly painting lurking in the closet too.  It was flowers with a hummingbird and butterflies. I looked at it and thought, decent frame, pretty colors, just needs work.  So I thought I’d “touch it up”.  Haha, so much for that!  A few hours later, it was entirely covered with a landscape.

There is not an inch of the original painting left.  It did not get a makeover or touch up, it got a cover up.  It’s still not done, the flowers in the foreground are just roughed in.

But I had a fun day - much more fun than cleaning out closets.  The distraction of painting means that there is still a half cleared storage area that needs attention.  Maybe next January when I need to find a space to cram a tree into.

 

A buddy day

A dear and talented friend has art hanging at the Sabatini Gallery in Topeka, so we planned a day out to go see it.

Between my husband traveling for business, missing our annual RV/dog adventure to the beach, and plain old having a case of the I Hate Januaries, I was ready for fixing up and getting out!  I even polished my nails  - all of them!  Including the ones buried in wool socks inside Ugg boots. (Except they aren’t really Ugg boots, Costco has their own version for a fraction of the cost that I like even better than the high dollar ones)

Our first stop was meeting at Jen’s.  She still had her Christmas goodies up and we hadn’t seen them.  She wanted to show us her friend and family display.

There were handmade ornies from her artist friends, things she or her daughter made, and pieces created at our holiday craft days over the decades.

This is one I’d painted of her dog, Cage, after he passed.

And one from the year I was a featured artist at the Festival of Trees.  It was special to see decorations I’d made so long ago, lots of happy memories were tied up in them.

I should’ve gotten a photo of the whole display.  She has them tied to a lit garland above a window seat.

Our friend, Shan, whose work we were going to Topeka to see, also hosts craft days in her studio.  Every Thursday she invites us to do mosaics with her.  This is a little house Jen made at one of those get togethers.

The gallery show was impressive, and I thought Shanna’s piece was just plain old delightful.  Not only was I proud to see a good friend’s work hanging in a show that was filled with glass artists from all over the country (including Dale Chihuly!) I thought her piece really stood out in its dual design, the glass itself and the wall behind it.

Our day in Topeka included more than just Art.  We went for a drive in the country to see the old farmstead where Jen spent her childhood, went out for lunch, and did some junking.  Even with the bleak, washed out, Kansas in January scenes around us, it was a warm and colorful day. 

I love my friends and the years we have had together!

Hearts

I'll be having lots of hearts and wings in my booth at Good JuJu.  This canvas has plaster texture in a heart shape with the roses painted inside. I have a few more, not sure if I got pictures. All are unique.

And remember the jewelry trees I did for Xmas? 

I loved doing that so much, I could not stop!

So, I turned my shape from a tree to a heart.

This one is a combo of the textured canvas with a button collage.  And in front you can see some of my wings.  They are made from a 1800s ledger and I swear, that book was one of my best ever purchases. I have sold rolled up pages from it, used it to line shelves, decopauged it onto table tops, backed collages with it, and now have made wings and hearts. 

And there is still some left!

I almost didn't buy it because it was not cheap. But man, that handwriting! Wow, so pretty. I am glad I went against my cheapskate instincts and bought it anyway.

I also beat out my cheap side and decided to keep these wings that my son helped form instead of selling them.

Since my booth is chocked full of wings and hearts I doubt if one set will be missed.  Heck, I’d be thrilled to have even half of the ones there sell out.

And I sure do love making them.

 

 

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!

 

Some painted shirts

Way back when my boys were little, I used to hand paint tee shirts for them.  Then, later on, it became a business for me and I’d sell tees and sweatshirts wholesale to local boutiques and to Silver Dollar City.  After years of it, I burnt out and went on to other endeavors.

 When the grandfairies came along, I painted a handful of shirts for them, but not many.  

Funny, that I never took the time to create more than a couple for them.  I guess that burn out ran deep.

Every once in a while, I do some as baby gifts because babies in onesies are about as cute as anything can be.  I love onesies, but they can be kinda boring as a gift, so I add something personal.  Like this fish for a nephew who lives by the shore.

And this pup for another nephew who has two yellow labs and a new baby.  I painted a six pack of shirts as baby gifts, but forgot to take photos of the rest.  

The best part was that I really had a good time doing them.  Maybe the exhaustion from the year that I painted over a thousand has finally dissipated. 

 

 

 

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 new look for the office

We finished the transformation of Rich’s office.  Well, almost.  We need a different sofa.

And for right now, the little nook that he is using as a computer area is just a board screwed to the wall, not a desk or table.

The rest of the room is all done, and everyone is enjoying the pool/ping pong table.

Most of the workout equipment is in the spot where all of the file cabinets and desks used to be.

The treadmill is behind the seating area, facing the tv, and there is room for an exercise bike next to it.

 The walls are freshly painted and patched.

I filled the knotholes in the barn wood window sills with turquoise chips and clear coated the wood.  After years of sunshine pouring in, they were cracking and dull.

We added new blinds and lighting, my son replaced the flooring.

The newly framed “ancestor” pictures hang below a sign pulled from the wreckage of the gas station Rich’s grandfather owned.

Some of these family photos were updated and reframed.  I still need to get a few others up there.  I think I have room for four more, a smaller one on each side of the bottom and top rows.

I have wanted that carpet gone for years, and am very pleased with the new, cleaned up version of the room!  All of the hard parts are done, now I get to go furniture shopping for a new couch.  

A pet portrait

This is a sweet girl that I painted for a friend.

 

I have enjoyed doing more paintings this fall and hope to continue the trend into the new year.