A songbird for Karla....

I'm working on the tags for Karla's BirdSong tag book swap & it occured to me that I never shared the journal page I made for Karla. There was a journal swap for BirdSong ....I was too intimidated to sign up but the pages were so wonderful that Karla expressed regret that she had not signed up for teh swap herself. So Laurie & Beth thought it would be a wonderful memento if we made a BirdSong journal as a surprise. It was for Karla so of course I had to brave up & contribute.

And I'm glad I did....I'm pretty proud of my page! I used a tattered photo frame, scrap of lace & a sweet, vintage image of a songbird...layering them all on an old book page, packed w/ cardboard & sheet music.

I let the bird sing from atop a bead-adorned twig.


And I used the same quote I used on my stands for the Frilly Paper Bird swap...another BirdSong swap. "A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song."

You can see all of the pages plus the beautiful cover that Beth did here.

I'm also busy spiffing up my studio for the Where Bloggers Create party...are you coming? They're always such fun & it may be the one time all year that my studio is clean. So I'll be sure & take lots of pictures to document the occasion. LOL

Bet y'all thought I was done w/ Birdsong posts, huh?

I dang sure should be...it was over a month ago! But things have just been so hectic around here with Mother's Day, Connor's birthday, Memorial Day, Stacie's birthday, out of school parties & trying to get ready for Paper Cowgirl. But before I jaunt off to Waxahachie for another fabuous artsy weekend, I just have to share the wonderful projects & swaps from BirdSong.

I'm not going to take the time to link up to everybody...sorry! That's the reason why I have delayed in this post for so long...it takes sooo long to link up to everyone. So you'll just have to forgive me. ;)

This is the awesome crepe paper tree I made in Carol Spinski's class. She's providing an online tut soon so do look her up!

One of the lampshades I made in Deb Dusenberry's class.

LOVE my nest banner, taught by Karla. (she says it was her first time teaching....true to form, she's already a master @ it!) Doesn't it look good on my hutch? I decorated the whole hutch w/ BirdSong stuff. It'll be that way through summer so I'll share it later.

And the woven pouch from a class taught by Lisa McIlvain. I copied Lisa's original design somewhat & used it for a "gift bag" for silhouettes I made for Mom for Mother's Day.

One of my favorite part of these art retreats is the swaps. LOVE doing them & always sign up for more than I should. This frilly paper bird was crafted by Lisa Stanton. Too cute!

This one was made by Karla herself.

Mine...

Sherry hosted the swap & made us a pair...a Mr & Mrs Dandy.

This adorable bonnet-bedecked bird was made by Laurie...she included the cute bird flashcard in her packaging of it.

This one was made by Gail...

And last but certainly not least (cause it's one of my favorites!), this one by Sharon.

If you recall, I also signed up for a matchbox swap....Nicki crafted this wonderful box for me out of lovely, hand-dyed velvet.

And filled it with all these goodies! I ADORE the vintage French trims & the page from an old French beauty book.

I wish I had the time to share pics of all the wonderful, talented ladies I had so much fun with but alas, I don't. But I do need to share this photo of Karla & I. Knowing my feelings towards her, she created this frame for it & sent it to me. I can't tell you how touched by her thoughtfulness I am. I have told her many, many times that she is my idol (said it here plenty of times too! LOL) & it's this kind of sweet generosity of spirit (coupled w/ her immense talent as an artist and as a decorator) that put her up there on that pedestal.

And I'm gonna see Karla again this weekend...I'm taking her dress form class @ Paper Cowgirl! I'm so excited!!!!! I'll be back later w/ pictures of my projects for the 3rd annual Paper Cowgirls Art Retreat....the best little art retreat in Texas! Yee haw!!!!

BirdSong...part one!

I'm gonna start my series of BirdSong posts (yes, it's gonna take multiple posts to share everything) with what I know my readers are most eager to see...Karla Nathan's lovely farmhouse!

This is the entrance to her fabulous studio!




click on any picture & then click again to enlarge for details
Her infamous hat cabinet. We had a contest to see who could guess closest to the number of hats...I think 84 was the right answer.



Stephanie guessed closest & won one of Karla's hat's....lucky girl!

Her studio was filled with so much beauty...it was like being enveloped by loveliness!

I forgot to take a pic but there is a pice of my art hanging in Karla's studio...it's in a tag book hanging from this shelf. My art in Karla Nathan's studio....pinch me!

This headboard was painted by Karla & converted into a bench.

Sorry for the graininess in my photos...I think my hands were shaking with excitement! (this photo is living proof that I am not the only one who puts a piece of furniture where the door will hit it when opened...my family constantly complains about it. I just tell them to be more careful when opening the door. LOL)

LOVED this wall, decoupaged w/ book pages!

And Karla's house was even lovelier in person than it is in pictures. How is that possible?

This was as far as I ventured into Karla's bedroom. I already had her worried about being a stalker...didn't want to freak her out! LOL

Her charming guest bath....

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the wallpapered stair risers!

A beautiful wax paper rose.

Check out how she faux-painted bricks in Sugarwings room!

The outside of Karla's house is just as charming as the inside!

This disco ball is made of thousands of sequins!

Her windowboxes were full of old china. What a great idea!

A truly fabulous firepit area is right outside the Fairy Berry Trail.

You wanna take a walk down the Fairy Berry Trail with me?

Fairy Tales do come true here!

Karla even painted a face on a tree!

I have much more to share...the goody bags (oh my! the sponsors & guests were sooooo generous!), the teachers & students, the projects & vendor night...I bought so many wonderful things on vendor night.

I had high expectations of my BirdSong retreat & I want y'all to know that Karla not only met, she exceeded every one! She hosted, decorated, made all the food, taught & was still relaxed enough that she sat in on the classes w/ us & crafted the projects too! And she is just as warm, charming, beautiful & inviting as her wonderful old farmhouse is...she is truly "the whole package". Thank you so much for a weekend of memories I will always treasure, Karla. Can't wait to see you again @ Paper Cowgirl next month!