Karla's Cottage

Into the Sunflower Fields

Sugarwings’ mama has graduated from her midwifery school!  After about 16 years of of working full time and continuing her education, (while getting excellent grades throughout), she has her degrees.

She needed some photos in her cap and gown, and the sunflower fields were just hitting their peak.  

Perfect timing!

Not only do sunflowers make a beautiful backdrop for pictures, the huge expanse of yellow blooms that rolls off into the distance is magical.

When you first arrive and see the other cars parked, The number of people already there is deceptive.

I usually feel like I’ll have to go way out into the blooms to find a private area for photos.

But no.  Once you step inside, you are surrounded and it can feel like you are in your own private, yellow world.

All of the other families who are visiting just disappear.  Unless they brought a flying, super baby  with them, who can skim across the top of the flowers.

Some years, the weather doesn’t comply and the farmer isn’t as successful. Others, like now, the flowers are massive and the fields are full.

 It’s free to visit, but tips are appreciated, and if you pick  flowers, you should leave a dollar for each.  

I have only taken Sugarwings twice, and what a big difference seven years makes!

Why have I only been a handful of times, when I get so much joy out of going?  Well, weather, timing, many things get in the way, durn it.

This time, the weather was beyond perfect.  We headed out at about 6pm, on the Thursday before Labor Day.  The lighting was ideal, the mystical “golden hour” was adding a soft glow to the air, and best of all, there were no bugs or mud.  

Our timing was ideal.

And what a lovely place for a graduate from Kansas to have a photo shoot.  We are the “Sunflower State.”

Plus, it just plain, old makes me happy to be there.

 

Goofing around with friends

TheOtherKarla, Beth, and I had a fun afternoon at the Old West Bottoms antique district. I didn't buy anything, but Karla, who isn't a junker found a few things.

Even without buying  much, we still had lots of laughs and a lively time.  Beth and I thought this walkway under the bridge was a gorgeous photo op, Karla didn't quite agree, but indulged us. See the people in the distance? They were there for a while, doing photos, with the young girl leaping into the air and posing quite prettily. I enjoyed watching them.

And insisted on doing it myself. 

Not as prettily though.

And I didn't achieve much air.

While we had plenty of goofiness, I think that we ended up with a couple of nice pics too. The structure was a cool backdrop.

As we left, we saw a gaggle of dapper guys in suits headed over for a photo shoot too.  I wonder if this area is a well known KC spot to pose?  

 

A new camera!!!

Before my head decided to spin for a week, I bought a new camera.  Well, actually, it is a phone, but who cares about that part, it is a great camera!!!!!!! I'd been wanting an iPhone 8 plus for a while, but my current phone didn't need replacing.  

It was just too hard to justify that expense when it was just for an upgrade that I didn't really need.

Then, my husband was having issues with his phone, and it was no longer being furnished by his company, we were responsible for getting a new one.  (hmm, that was causing a slight, bitter taste in the back of my mouth, he could care less about cameras and didn't even want a new one. I'd been day dreaming about getting one for a year or so, now we needed to pay for one for him). 

I found out that my youngest boy and Katie Tree had trouble with service at their place. Plus, his phone had broken.

Since they'd moved to the country, they had no coverage and had to drive to town to make a call. 

So, when I saw that AT&T had a sale where you get one iPhone free if you buy one and add a line... BINGO!

We added a line for the country mice, bought my husband the new phone he needed, and I got the totally FREE camera (I mean phone) that I'd been drooling over for months.

No guilt about replacing my old one, it got shuffled down to Miss Tree, hers went to her hubby, and with the change to AT&T instead of Verizon, they no longer have to head down the gravel road to make a call.  Service is available from the comfort of their home.

And I'm thrilled with the portrait setting, all of these pics except the one of the house were taken with the new iPhone 8 plus.  Nice, huh? 

Family treasures

My sister, Bobbie, is hugely into genealogy and has a wonderful collection of old photos. Recently, she posted this delightful one of our great grandmother and her sister.  (I edited it to clean up some of the age spots)

(Here is the original scan)

This is one of those pictures that I would have squealed loudly about if I'd found it in an antique shop, it will be beautiful to work with. But to know that these girls are actually relatives??

Wow. 

I am thrilled to have it.

I saved it in a tinted version too.  

Funny, when it was posted, facial recognition asked if we wanted to tag either me, Sissy, or her daughter, Shelli.  Apparently there is a family resemblance?

Possibly in the shape of the faces.  I find facial recognition fascinating. It seems to measure bone structure, distance between eyes, etc, not sticking to a passing similarity from hair color or style.

Bobbie also had this photo of our great grandmother (center) with our grandma (left) and her sister (right).

I brightened it up a bit too.  I hope to do something with this one for our annual sister trip to the beach in October.  I just wish I had that beach bag to take with me. 

Thanks, Bobbie!  I love the photos.

 

 

Another view of the eggs

The other day, I was complaining about my camera.  I'd prefer using my iPhone for all  of my close up photos because the camera seems to hyper focus on one spot and blur out too much. This photo is from my phone.

This one is from my camera.  I didn't like the base blurring, since I had no control over it.  A soft background is nice, but the item itself, should be sharp, if you are trying to sell it.

Here is another comparison.  First is the camera, second is the phone.

My problem was that the cloud sharing between my phone and computer was oddly timed. Somedays, a photo would appear the minute it was taken. Other times, it would take DAYS.  Hooking them by wire, using iTunes, and many other tricks didn't help.

(phone pic)

So, I couldn't count on using the pictures when needed to blog or add to my Boutique.  I was getting frustrated by the problem. Then, I remembered the magic of using air drop!

(camera- blurry bottom half of the photo)

So, Yay! Now, I can get better pictures of my goods to peddle.  Before I pat myself on the back for being so dang smart, though, I'll bypass the part of the story where it took me about two years of complaining to come up with a solution.

Seriously, this is so much better.  I'm happy to have figured it out, even though I wasn't so quick on the draw.

By the way, the camera is a Canon G9X. I've adored all of my past Canons, and was sad each time I did something terrible to one and had to replace it. But in the past, I'd been lucky enough that every replacement was better than the one before. Then, I got this one. And it is NOT a good fit for me, and it never, ever breaks, so I've been stuck with it.

The iPhone sure does beat out the Canon.  Nice and sharp, and clear.

My phone is a 6s, and I daydream about replacing it with a newer one because I hear that the camera on them are even better.... but I can't justify that, since my own phone seems to be just fine. And these pics are pretty dang nice.

Not as good in low light, but still better than my camera.  I'll keep taking photos with the Canon when I travel, because I've noticed that when there is no wireless to use the iCloud photo storage, the phone thinks it is full and won't take more pics.  So, a camera in my purse is a great back up when needed.

But I will not be using that camera for items I'm trying to sell any more.  I've been so disappointed my Boutique photos, but now that I've got the dilemma solved, maybe I'll feel like adding more to the Boutique? 

PS- there are still some eggs in the Boutique if you are interested, and some had the photos replaced, some are still the blurred ones from the camera, though. Thank you to everyone who purchased eggs and wallpaper from me already!!

Close ups of the gallery wall

When the new room was finished, I decided I wanted some of my favorite family pictures hung in it.  This one is from our big getaway to Siesta Key a couple of years ago.  I printed it at 8x10, but wanted it to be more prominent to show off the darling, but so fleeting, proof of sisterly love.

So, I framed it in an oval, vintage frame and attached that to the center of an ornate clock frame that I had. I'd taken out the clock and painted over the brass frame, then painted the oval frame to  match.

 

Recently, I read one of those posts that pop up here and there, you know, those lists of the Top Ten this or thats, often about decor or fashion?  This one was about decorating trends that make your home look dated.  And one of the things listed was having displays of family photos. Their point was that a bunch of pictures was grandmotherly.

Hmmm.

Well, as often as I get sucked into reading all of those lists, they aren't something I believe in our care much about.  They are slightly addictive to me, just like the TV show, Naked and Afraid. I'd NEVER be a survivalist, but I am glued to that series and can't turn away when the bugs start crawling on the starving people who can't build a fire.  I follow those lists just like I follow that show.  They are hardly ever ideas that I use, but I sure am hooked on reading them.

I do like it when I see a photo from my own home pop up in one of the lists, though!  (hopefully on a positive list)

Like here or here.

So, not caring if my gallery wall made my home look dated according to a very important top ten list on the internet, I went ahead with collaging and framing some of my loved ones.

This one is not flattering at all to a single member of the group, but I still think it is a great pic.  A photo doesn't have to be perfect.  This one is full of emotions and that beats perfect any day.

Ryan seems to think I have an over abundance of grand fairy shots.  He could be right.

Here is how they all look, puzzle pieced together on the wall. The glass block window is the backsplash behind my kitchen stove on the other side of the wall.  This used to be the cottage's exterior, and I liked that window, so we kept it with the remodel.  

The fabric is the silk from the circus apparatus that hangs from the ceiling, and we need a pulley, so it can be fitted into the corner without it swagging as it is now.

All of those photos might be a little busy with so much going on right now, the top of the buffet is full of Halloween decor.  Normally, it is more demur.  At Christmas, it will be fantastically, over the top, so for that, I'll probably take the family pictures down and replace them with a stained glass window or some mirrors.  

Until I get a pulley for the rope on the silks, this is how we hang them up after use.  Who needs a ladder when you have circus kids? I wonder if she can reach the ceiling fan blades to give them a dusting while she is up there too?

Over the rainbow

 

Sugarwings went to school last week, looking pretty festive.  When I picked her up, I took a photo of her in her rainbow pants and it (of course) made me think of Dorothy.

So, I gussied up the photo a bit with PicMonkey.  

Here is the before. Weren't those bricks just calling out to be yellow and to be followed?

The Gilded Journey

A few months back, I was asked to participate in this book by Anne Freund and Cynthia Schaffer.  It is now out and ready for sale here. and I think on Amazon, too.

It looks like it is going to be a beauty. These pics are just lovely, and I'm impressed by the list of artists who have contributed.

I feel so lucky to have been included with artists I admire.

My project was a travel journal to illustrate the chapter, "Those who wander are not lost"

You can see some of my book in this post if you'd like.

A year in photos through my art journal

What better way to look back over the past year than through photos?

 I take pictures almost daily, and while many are blogged and I can look back at them that way, I still prefer having books to leaf through and enjoy.

Most of my favorite photos get pasted into one of my art journals.  A physical copy of a photo is very meaningful.  And I always worry that digital pictures are only a dirty, cruel virus, or a silly mistake away from disappearing forever.

Plus, it just feels good to look through a book of memories.

I include some artwork, and other tidbits. Like the schedule I printed for Birdsong last spring.

And a painting that I'd done years ago and found in the bottom of a drawer. (It is mounted on paper that was dyed when I used it as drainage for some other hand dyed project.)

My books are a little of this, a little of that, and a LOT of grand fairies.

Here, I saved the tiny paintings I made to create the buttons on my blog. Next to it, is Dewdrop, snuggling a kitty both on vintage papers and tied together with ruffled ribbon.

While my books are quite a hodge podge, I do try to have adjoining pages look nice together, either by theme or color.

And I like to have different sized or shaped photos to add.

Sometimes, one photo is all I'll put on a page.

Other times, I'll fill the page up.

Often, I'll add cards that I was given during the year, and have pictures inside the card to see when it is opened up too.

And I'll add danglies, I love danglies. This heart was a "to-from" tag off of a gift given to me by my sissy.

This is the picture inside the card, along with lace and old images.

Sometimes I'll use inks or paints behind the photos.  And on this page, is a tag given to me at Birdsong.

On this page, I've cut the people out of the photos.

Here too.

And here.  

Doodle pages always add interest. 

Throughout the year, I'll toss little items I like into a journal box and save it up for a day when I feel like sitting down to make a page.

Not all pages are elaborate.  This is torn pieces of old paper, with two photos on it.  I've outlined the pictures with a marker.

But other times, I feel like doing more. Like these branches drawn onto the page and the "hinged" mat. When the mat opens up like a door, the branches are drawn underneath to continue on the full page too.

Some pages are just for fun. But they still hold memories for me.

Not only do I love having these completed books to linger over, and sometimes pass around at family gatherings, I dearly LOVE making them.

And they really are never quite finished.  It isn't uncommon to go back and add a little charm or doodad years after the book was supposedly finished!

And they aren't usually chronological, either. This is a picture from the year before that slipped into this book. 

The important part of the books I make, is the love that goes into them. Yea, I know very corny.  But true. I adore working on them, and have to stop myself from obsessing over making journals.  

I thought maybe my New Year's resolution should be to not spend soooo much time doing books, when I should be making things to sell....

Nope.

I'll still have  these books to pass down to great grand fairies someday. But if I made something to sell instead, I'd have spent the money on some little token and it would be gone by then.

So, maybe my resolution should be to not beat myself up over the time I take away from work to make books for myself?

These do bring me a lot of joy. And I am such a workaholic, I get plenty of other stuff done too.

Sugarwings has started her own art journal, plus is kind enough to make things for me to add to mine.  Maybe I'll resolve to help her get her own journal habit going more this year.  

As far as resolutions, those aren't bad. They are probably pretty doable.

I don't take resolutions lightly.  The list's improvements for the year ahead are something I think about and try to uphold.

Last year, I worked hard on being more patient, and nicer.  I think that helped, and I stayed aware of the issues I had to deal with. By doing that, I think it honestly made a difference in my attitude.

Vowing to enjoy the work in front of me, and not being impatient with myself for making what I want to make instead of what I think I should make, kind of echoes last year's resolutions.  It is me being patient with myself, and not annoyed. Last year, I vowed not to get so annoyed with others.

It worked.

And I felt the benefits of it, personally and emotionally.  I guess anytime you work on being nicer to others, it comes back to being nicer to yourself too.

I think I'll also resolve not to keep apologizing for other people's perceived notions of what I meant when I said something as opposed to what I really meant.

That is a hard one. 

All I can do is explain what I meant, apologize for possibly being misleading, but assure that person that I didn't mean it unkindly.

I can't be sorry for what someone THINKS that I thought if that is NOT what I thought, right?  

Sounds simple, but this is a trap I've been caught in.   

So, as long as I know my intentions are clear, I can't feel bad about how upset a person gets with me.  I will do my best to be a nice guy, if another doesn't see that in me, then..... well, not my problem!

We can only control our own reactions, not other's reactions.

Ooh, that one really is hard.  

So, here is my list for 2016:

1- Keep trying to be patient and kind, and be true to my own emotions, do not let others perceived notions effect me if they are not correct.  Of course, part two of that means, looking deeply into part one to make sure that I have not been hurtful.   

2- Enjoy the work in front of me, whether it is personal, or profitable. This kind of goes along with my life motto of "Use the Good Stuff"- if it is worth my time, it is worth using the best materials.  The work is also worth using my best outlook too, right? If I'm going to do it, I'm going to let myself go, and let the guilt go too.

So, 2016 looks like a year with some effort ahead for me.

And some enjoyment.

I hope that your year holds some improvements, surprises, many blessings,and lots of enjoyable, creative moments.

Pet pics and what is new in the Boutique

Honey is fitting in better than I had expected. She pees on command, fetches, knows to go into her kennel when told, and has stolen everyone's hearts.

She is even learning to pose, but isn't the best at it.  This photo is a fluke, she isn't very patient with the camera like Twinkle is.  Of course, Twinkle sees a camera in my hand and thinks all photos are of her.  She jumped right up in the chair next to her blonde nemesis to make sure she got her share of camera time too.

Actually, they are getting along pretty good.  Twinkle has her jealous moments, but as long as Honey remembers that Tinks is alpha dog, they seem to enjoy each other's company.  Albie isn't happy with her at all, though. He takes every opportunity he gets to nip at her tail.

I don't know if Twinkle likes being around her, or is just making sure that the new dog doesn't get more time with me than she does.    

These guys are champion posers. The puppeesh are almost as talented at modelling as their mom. Although they do it just to please me, they don't care about being in a photo. Twinkle likes to think that the camera is always pointed her way. Sometimes, I have to agree to take her photo to get on with my business of snapping what I had meant to in the first place.

Honey doesn't get the point. Most pics of her look like this.

Or this.

I have to act fast to get all four of them together. I'm going to keep trying. It will be fun to have a record of how big she gets in comparison to her peers.  I'll try to get a weekly update of the group as she sprouts up.

Even if Honey can't keep her eyes open in the shots.  Poor dog, I know what it is like.

Not everyone can pose like Twinkle, of course.  Pumpkin's kittens can be elusive. And this one, Gourdie, always has RBF (Resting B**ch Face).  She is a perfectly nice cat, she just looks cranky.

 

PS- I've added quite a few ephemera packs to the Boutique.

Wallpaper scrap packs, ephemera, paper dolls...

Fairy book kits, and more.

Oh, did I mention wallpaper?  I loaded a few packs of that too.



Plus, a completed Fairy book over at the Etsy shop.

As well as an art journal with an included ephemera pack, ready for you to fill up and create in.