Karla's Cottage

Patriotic and still Cottagey decor

Red, white, and blue are not typically my colors.  But this year, I wanted to play with them and use the tones with my own aesthetic. 


Vintage wallpaper is one of my favorite things, so I whipped up a few flags from it.  The large one is on foam core, the smaller ones on vintage book covers.

While I was at it, I used the scraps to make tags.

With roses, birds, and wallpaper, this color scheme made me pretty happy.

Also, I’ve always wanted to make one of these ribbon flags.  I scoured my home and studio for red ribbon and lace, to find just enough to make this one.  I thought I’d make smaller ones with the scraps, but there wasn’t much left over.  Most of the trims are vintage, a couple of the reds are not.  And the blue tulle is cut from a cute skirt that Sugarwings wore as a little kid.  

The hanger is not a part of it, that is behind the piece.  Sorry, should’ve hung it elsewhere for the photo.  The ribbons are tied to nails pounded into a branch.  I’m going to put a dot of glue on each knot to keep them in place.

This was such a fun project, I’d love to make another, but do not want to use brand new red ribbons.  I might dye some vintage lace and use that.  A soft, faded red would be nice, this a bit bright for me.

All of this stuff will be at Good Juju for First Fridays in June.  I’ll show you some pictures once I get it all set up.

 

 

A couple of coincidences

Isn’t this just lovely wallpaper?  It is my all time favorite in years of collecting old papers.  

Often, I come by the same patterns multiple times, but a few special designs are more rare and I do not see them around as much.  This is one I have never come across again, and I save it only for important purposes.  This treasure is way too wonderful to be a tag or a random craft. A pattern this beautiful is meant for lining a cabinet, or being in a treasured book for a friend.

At Juju on Friday, a shopper came in and asked if I had any wallpaper.  Well, I do sell craft packs in my Boutique, but I haven’t been bringing that to the mall.  I had started covering a wall in a different old paper for each season, then selling the pieces I took down after.  

This customer was looking for a very specific one, not just something to craft with.  She wanted the exact paper from her grandma’s home, and had searched everywhere, including online with Google’s reverse image.  When she showed me her photo, I knew I could help!

I have to wonder what the odds are that of all the shops in Kansas City, or even in the Old West Bottoms, and the vast amount of dealers at them all, that we met and she was asking around for my favorite wallpaper of all time?  That night, I cut two repeats off for her and she came back the next day to get it, promising me photos of the shadowbox she is making in her grandma’s memory.

Coincidences make me happy, and I used to collect them in a file.  It’s been years since I wrote them down, though I am thinking I might start again.  My favorite was that a friend was walking down the road, a quite few blocks from our house and saw a bundle of mail in the muddy ditch.  He picked it up, saw it was ours and brought it over.  Inside was a very big check we had been waiting for.  This was the first time he’d decided to go for a walk there, the mail was muddy and not easy to spy.  And it was found by someone who knew us.  

A very lucky coincidence!

Last week when I went to the Sparks Flea Mkt, I bought a bag of junk jewels and inside I found a brooch with my buddy, Beth’s price tag on it from a previous sale.  That gave me a huge smile!  

 

 

Inspiration, ancestors, and leprechauns

Easter isn’t until April, but I have been spending a good chunk of February getting ready for bunny-ing up my booth for the next First Friday at Good Juju.  

And since we are also in the vicinity of St Paddy’s, I’ve added a section of green and good luck snuggled between the bunnies and eggs.

This wall is covered in spring daisies on a soft green background.  It is vintage wall paper, and my plan is to change it up seasonally.  I’ll roll up the used piece from the previous month and have it for sell when I do the change over.  

I offer packets of ironed, cut wallpaper for crafting in my online Boutique but I’ve never sold the stuff this way.  It will be good for bigger projects, and ends up being about 6-7’.

Although, when I stapled this piece up, it was chosen for the pretty green tones, then it dawned on me that around here, daisies were more of a summer flower, not early spring.  Dur. 

 I kinda doubt anyone else will think it through that far.  Ha, can you picture someone critiquing my use of Daisies in March?

“Why, I’ve never seen such a disrespectful display of unseasonal flowers in my life! No way am  I shopping in that uninformed booth!”

Another nitpick?  I’m not totally satisfied with the hairstyle on my shamrock doll.  She has a 1960’s Barbie bubble cut from the front. From behind, it’s a nice updo.  This girl should dump her hairdresser (me).  I might bring scissors and snip in some bangs before she meets our guests.

While one whole corner is set to celebrate the luck of the Irish on their special day, most of my decor consists of green stuff and green Easter eggs.  I have a couple vintage clover brooches, the doll, and two mushrooms made from the same tattered, old material as the doll dress.  

This one has a tiny leprechaun grabbing some shade underneath.

There are also silver pendants with an Irish theme.  I have Celtic knots, green stones, moons, and dragons.  Kinda Irishy.  I not a beer drinker, so have never considered drinking green beer, and really am not at all into the typical St Patrick’s Day type of celebrating.  But I like to remember that I am part Irish and pretend it is my holiday too, like many of us do.

(Also part English and German according to 23 and Me DNA testing. Sounds like there could’ve been some disagreements and a bit of bombing between my ancestors, huh?)

There will be more Easter to show you from the other side.

 And then the last wall is all neutrals, inspired by Yellowstone- which I think starts up again soon.  I do enjoy that show, but I seriously LOVE  the two prequels.  OMG, the romance!  The scenery!  How Gorgeous.  Well, I’ll show that wall later, I have a feeling no one will interpret as Yellowstone, but hey, inspiration isn’t exact because then it’s called copying, right?

 

Peeps Day

We had a little get together for a Peeps craft day at the cottage.  Angie brought a cookie display that was so pretty, it had to immediately become the center piece for our luncheon.

Sadly, three people had other things come up and couldn’t make it.  Beth offered to bring a salad at the last minute so I wouldn’t have find a side dish for the quiche and homemade bread I’d prepared, which was very helpful of her.

She always makes the best salads, too.

I’d tried my hand at making brioche bread, and while it’s a lot of extra work compared to the kind I typically whip up, I think it is way worth it.  But- there is almost a whole stick of butter in it opposed to the tablespoon of heart healthy oil I usually use, so maybe I won’t make a habit of this decadent bread that feels more like a pastry than a slice of bread.

The remainder of the loaf home was sent with the gal pals, thinking I would save myself from all that butter.  But then, Nora left some of her cream pie tarts, Angie left cookies, and well, here I am having both for breakfast and feeling pretty happy to have them.

Lunch was only a little part of the day, the main event for me is always the projects.

We had vintage album mats and little girls images to make Easter wall hangings.  This one is mine, and since I’d previously made a yellow daffodil one, I wanted a different style, but this might be too dark to be springy.  I also don’t like the green pattern in the brown wallpaper and might peel up the girl to add another layer beneath her.  Maybe some blue ledger paper…

This one is Nora’s next to her cute picnic basket that came full of tarts and fruity, sparkly wine. 

(It did not leave full)

Everyone got a hand drawn placemat.  Well, since only half of the group could come, they each got two.

I might make a habit of these.  When I host real events, not just get togethers, I usually draw on tablecloths.  But lately, instead of plastic table cloths that tickle your legs, and are pretty flimsy anyway, I’ve been covering my work tables in poster board and using large scrap book paper as place markers.

While these quick cartoons aren’t exactly major pieces of art, they are a little different.  Plus, I really like drawing, so, yep, I think it might become something I’ll be doing more of.

Although the square size isn’t ideal for dining room placemats, a rectangle would be better.  

Once we finished our Easter pictures, everyone had something else they’d brought to do.  I made some little people to use on something else some day.  Just because I love making little people.  It reminds me of all the hours of playing I spent with paper dolls as a kid.

After the last couple of years that we have had, days like this mean more to me than ever.  It was the best!

 

 

 

More fun from St Augustine and the Guncles

Our five week, meandering trip included 2 single and one four day visit to Guncleland, where the family pitched in and rebuilt some of the fencing.  While guys were busy sawing and hammering, I took some time to clean up the pathways, reset stepping stones, and spread mulch.

They replaced two gates and one length of fence, then added a privacy fence for trash cans and storage.

After a dozen years or so, the garden stones had all sunken down under the earth.  So I un-earthed them and reset the pathways along one side of the house and the garbage can storage area too.

 Which is where I found these!  I felt like an archeologist, digging up ancient ruins.  Apparently, they had been on the ground there, and like the stones, had worked their way deep down under the dirt.

But I preferred to think of them as from an earlier inhabitant of the land.

Our evenings were spent relaxing in the Guncles’ unique home with all eight of our combine canine family having some cousin time.

Oh and eating! There was lots of eating!  That’s what you do when you go to Jax and visit the Gunks.  They feed you endless, yummy, seafood.  I thanked them with a pie.

But it wasn’t all manual labor and big meals.  Randy and I took a mini road trip down to St Augustine to meet up with my sister, Bobbie who was visiting elsewhere in the state.

Where we met some interesting new friends.

In some cool places.

See what I mean? This steam punk  store is a cool addition to George Street.

My favorite thing I saw downtown was this wallpaper in a shop.

Or was it this wallpaper?

No, my FAVORITE thing from the day was this.  I love those two so much!

 

Reusing old album mats for some springtime pretties

These are pretty beat up, but I think they could be used to make some lovely Easter collages.

Don’t you?

 

 

How to make folded paper Christmas balls

These layered balls ended up being pretty easy to make once I figured it out.  My first ones didn’t come out as nicely, but they got better as I made a few.

My first mistake?  Using only vintage papers, and not being careful to find ones that aren’t brittle.

I discovered that the ideal paper is scrapbooking card stock, but since I love the old stuff so much, I tried using some book pages and wallpaper too.  Plus, a mix looks pretty together.

Vintage flocked wallpaper is ideal, and some more sturdy wallpapers are too.  But most of the antique ones disintegrate when folded.  

I used some Xmas wrapping paper also.  

If you have a fragile paper you just love, and really want to use, maybe try backing it with card stock first.

These were some that worked for me, as well as some book pages. To test it, fold the paper a few times and see if it cracks.  If not, it should work okay.  

Cut and fold all of the pages ahead of time, so you have a pile to work with and not have to pause while gluing.

Fold each piece with the most interesting side inwards, so you are gluing the outsides to each other.  

Glue one folded piece to the next until you have a stack that looks like this.

Another discovery that I made is that it’s a good idea to glue all of the folded circles together and set them aside to dry.  If you try to make the orb while the glue is wet, the paper is more fragile and will easily tear.

While still folded, you can ink the edges.

Add some strong glue (I like The Ultimate) along the folded edge.

Cut ribbon or string, and fold it in half with a loop at the end.

 (I used pipe cleaners down the center of some, and it did work, but for me, it was too easy to poke through the papers with it, string or ribbon is better).

Then stick the ribbon into the glue, with the loop at the top and the two ends hanging out of the bottom.  

Open the pages.

Apply glue to both half circle sides, then press them together to make the orb.  Smoosh them together and there it is!  You might need to carefully pick each layer apart, gently manipulate them, and form the circle.

If you get a tear when opening it up, just attach an extra circle over that segment.

You can use the two trailing ends or your ribbon or string to tie a bundle of netting and ribbons to the bottom.

Or use them to tie on charms.  Or do both! (I liked the idea of book charms with the old book pages).

How many circles did I use?  Well, they are all different.  The thinner the paper, the more you need.  The heavier papers fill out nicely without as many. And because they are thick, too many makes the stack so high that when you put them together you have a huge gap in the center.

So, about 20 for thin papers, half that much for heavy ones. 

 

A memory book

When Ryan died, I cut up a canvas that hung on a wall of his apartment and turned it into a book cover.  Filling the pages of that book meant weeks of happy memories as I sorted through photos and wrote down stories.

There were also many slow tears dropped onto the paper.

And other times when the sobbing was so hard, I found myself needing to lay down on the cement floor of the studio, in the bits and pieces of fallen scraps and trimmings.

That photo album has become a treasured piece for me.

 Since crafting his book, two close friends lost family members too, and I made books for them.

And this week, I put together this album for another friend’s birthday.  

She lost her mom a couple years ago.  At that time, I wasn’t making these memorials, but after seeing their meaningfulness, I wanted her to have one.

Each book that I build is a mix of photos (usually taken from Facebook), blank pages to add more pictures later, note paper to write on, with pockets and envelopes to store tokens and trinkets.

I try to use colors and styles of paper that I know my friend will like.  



And each has some doodling type artwork inside.

Mostly simple flowers, vines, or other small sketches.

And each becomes, almost a meditation for me as I assemble it.

I take time to think about the people in the photos, and feel their happiness and their loss.

Constructing these books has been good for me, an exercise in caring and time to lose myself in being creative.

Sadly, I have one more to make, and wish that there wasn’t a reason to need another one.

But since there is, I hope that the art journal can bring some comfort.

 

 

 

An altered doll wardrobe, everything is better with wallpaper!

Beth gave me a doll wardrobe that definitely showed it’s age.  She knew I needed a challenge.

See what I mean?  
It needed a few minor repairs where the joints had pulled apart, but mostly just some pretty papers.

Keeping with the theme, I glued vintage paper with pictures of children’s clothes patterns to the inside.

I used two wallpapers on the outside.

Then I added clusters of flowers on the ribbons that tie the top and bottom together. I sanded the edges a little, so it didn’t look too fresh and new, then hung a nicely tattered, old doll dress on the hook inside.

Most likely, I’ll just use it as a storage box on my desk, not for doll clothes.  But it was cute to see it with the dress hanging in it, as it was meant to be.  

 

More mini redos

Sometimes, all you need is a little change.

Like the mini overhaul of this, already pretty bottle of bath salts from TJMaxx.

I just glued a bit of wallpaper around it and glued a silk rose to the neck.  It took a matter of moments for a new look.

The Bath and Bodyworks bottle got a makeover too.  The labels were kind of vinyl-ish and peeled off easily. Once they were off, I glued some wallpaper flowers and a bird onto it.

While I was at it, I slapped a flower on the dish soap bottle too.

Making something prettier doesn’t  have to be complicated. Sometimes, just a simple little bit can make a big difference.

Since they are soap bottles and get wet, the paper doesn’t always last.  I have glued other ephemera to the same dish soap bottle in the past.  So, there is no reason to spend a lot of time on the project and making an arty collage label.

Have you used the foaming soaps before? I really like them.  I didn’t realize at first, that the foam was made by the pumper, not by the type of soap. Instead of replacing the empty bottle, I now refill it.

My mix?

Fill one third of the way with a plain, liquid soap like Ivory, or another inexpensive brand.

Fill the rest of the way with water.

Add a drop or two of essential oil.  I used grapefruit and rosemary.   Sounds like an odd mix, but it smells great.