A Church Sale and a Lesson Learned

Well, every time I go Hunting for Treasures there is ultimately a story to tell.....A while back , hubby and daughter accompanied me to a community sale in Merrickville and while I was totally submersed in finding my Treasures hubby and daughter were finding their little piece of vanity fair observing the bargain hunters; some totally oblivious to their surroundings;such was a lady blissfully happy with her Treasure finds, unknowing to her immediate calamitous predicament.

This is where the first garage sale poem was born....." The Spider and the Shed " or " Spider's Moving Day " , one of my hubby's notorious funny quaky, quirky poems.

I would have never guessed in a million years that he possessed this poetic talent if it were not for these funny occurrences the two keenly observed within the radius of the common market I visited that day and was only made aware of this gift he possessed upon our return back home.

Ahhh, aren't they sweet angels....or are they ????

The famous shed where hubby and daughter witnessed the Spider's Moving Day....Lucky spider never anticipated getting a free mover that day and the unsuspecting Treasure Hunter had a good day herself, hubby and daughter found a way to find fun without costing them a cent and I got more than I had bargained for ; a keeper poem to remember the lovely day the family had at the Annual Merrickville Community Garage Sale!

These poems are meant to be taken lightly and no real names were used to protect the guilty....haha!!!! All in good fun and like my daughter simply puts it "Boredom of the Jedi"....that's another story, her own. So here is the one that started it all, followed by the one he just wrote today . Hopefully I'll have another for next weekends Garage and Church Sales. So here you are.....Hope you like them.

Enjoy !!!

The Spider and the Shed

Out at yard sales on a rainy day

In the entrance to a shed

We watched as a spider dandled down

Looking to be fed

We stood outside in the pouring rain

Just me and Emma Peel

She looked my way and said to me

I’m not a spider meal

It was raining hard, we were getting wet

There were treasures inside for sure

I would check for bargains once inside

But only after her

Then suddenly without a word

We stood and did not care

As the woman that had just walked out

Had the spider in her hair

The way was clear, it was alright now

We could find our deals inside

We could have told the lady who cleared the way

But to hell with foolish pride 

She knew that she was on her own

She knew the price to pay

It’s everybody for themselves

For this was garage sale day

~ Stan Belanger

At this mornings church sale my husband and daughter decided to take a break but there was no need for them to be present to hear about my disappointment in missing out on some Treasures.....nothing lost, actually much more was gained from the experience...... a funny poem and a lesson learned......"don't fuss and fiddle with tiny jewellery bags , just horde them in your stash , pay and move on to the next treasure chest....haha...I'm afraid I'm a little too giving to take the whole loot , I like to share and give others some fun in the hunt as well! So here is Stan's version of what transpired at an early church sale in the country. Enjoy!!!

Church Sale Pig Lady

Entered the church sale

Like time and again

Spotted some jewelry

And suddenly when 

A pig lady appeared

That followed no rules

Pig lady, pig lady

Just like a fool

Gathered up everything

Looked like a witch

Hoarded all the jewelry

Lord what a bitch

I tried to grab something

She said’ “everything’s mine”

A little embarrassed 

I said ok, fine

If you like a good church sale

I’ve learnt one thing for certain

You have to be rude

Or leave there a hurtin

The next time I go there

No one is safe

Wheel chairs and walkers

Get out of my way

~ Stan Belanger

So now when I go to these sales I do come away hoping for something more, not only in material treasures but more importantly, something to share, get a little chuckle out of and a little souvenir to remember of a time well spent together as a family.

Will share some of my finds tomorrow...... 

Until next time enjoy the Spring Sales and Treasure Hunts ~

Annabelle

Paint Party Friday Week 9 ~ " Past Curfew "

Not sure what is going on this week , maybe blogger issues I don't think Kristin and Eva cancelled the party, anyway I'll go ahead and post; hopefully it isn't .

This week's Paint Party Friday Submission....." Past Curfew "

Friday the 13th............Weeps once again is alone in the Dark

WIP.....Just finished " Weeps " yesterday and when I tried to post him this morning blogger was down......Hmmmm...... anything to do with  it being Friday the 13th? I for one keep the number 13 as a lucky charm but probably not for all so it seems.........

Step #1 ~ Harvest Conk
Step #2 ~ Dry the Shelf Mushroom for a couple of months, but not required
Step #3 ~ Gesso  prep
Step #4 ~ Sketch design, again not required if you can draw...hehe...not like me
Step #5 ~ Wood burn using wood burning tool...again not required
Step #6 ~ Paint, again not required
Step #7 ~ Seal with shellac if desired

This artist Conk doesn't sit well so once I complete "Weeps" I will be making a base for the Shelf Mushroom art

A small little door to a fairy's home. Looks like Weeps isn't really all alone as he thought.

Another little door isn't too far from Weeps.

M named this work and thought of adding the lily flower lantern .Will be working on him for this week in-between gardening, treasure hunting for old relics of the natural kind and manmade. Hope you all have yourself a great weekend and enjoy the Spring weather.

p.s. I will try to post a few of the great Treasures I was fortunate to come across in the last few weeks.

Maybe they may give you an incentive to frequent a few yard and church sales of your own.....maybe you'll find your artistic inspiration in a lost and forgotten gem.....

Have fun Treasure Hunting and Creating

Annabelle

Sir Eldrick Sim ~ The Whimsical Spider ~ Hush Sweet Charlotte

Sir Eldrick Sim ~ The Whimsical Spider .........Sim sure has lovely eyes, don't you think?

I have a small collection of antique vintage jewels I collected since I was a teenager and a few recent acquisitions from estate and church sales. They aren't the easiest to acquire for it seems everybody has the similar ailment I possess that of an incurable addiction and affection for all things sparkly and very, very  old.And even though these out of time pieces with their lovely worn and tattered patina usually come with missing stones their charm is never lost and somehow make them more endearing to our heart.

I present to you Sir Eldrick Sim, Sim for short though he is far from it with those dandy long legs of his...hehe! Sir Sim is my most recent Spider creation....Oooak.

An antique Aquamarine vintage brooch melded with a vintage clear rhinestone brooch make up the alluring physique of this long legged arachnid . I sculpted his very long legs from heavy gauge copper wire and then added a finishing touch of antique patina to give him that old world look of a well travelled  seasoned gentleman Spider , perhaps a renaissance gentle arachnid man. A welcome companion in any household who adores a bit of whimsy, a fairytale or two and the story of Charlotte's Web for a life filled with magic and a love for all God's creatures great and small, creepy and scary, and all fun to observe and adore.

Sir Sim adores climbing high along castle walls, especially those constructed of ancient crystal fossils..... a very complimentary background for having his picture taken.

On sunny days you'll find Sir Sim sunbathing in the bird bath, happens to be his fav spot surrounded by all the ancient crystal fossils.

Another day at the Bath....never enough of these days....too beautiful to miss.

That Orbed Maiden Paint Party Friday Week 8

This week's submission to Paint Party Friday......Digital Painting of the moon I did sometime ago.

The moon was first sketched on paper and then I applied the background layers, colours and text in Dreamweaver.

Click on banner to visit other participating artists in Paint Party Friday Hosted by Kristin and Eva

Until next Friday, 

Happy Painting and a Very Lovely Mothers Day to all

Annabelle ~^..^~

Whimsical Wednesday Hosted by Danimal Week 24 (May 4 - May 10 )

Okay I think I will be submitting quite a few whimsical pieces of my art that I have done in the past so for my regular visitors....sorry for the repeats, for the new visitors, well here is week 24 submission for Whimsical Wednesday Week 24 ( May4 - May 10 ).

Click the Web of Whimsy to take you to Whimsical Wednesday hosted by Dan

My infamous moon I painted and then made a Flickr collage incorporating some of the most lovely photographs of other Flickr Members. I loved creating this Magical Whimsical Piece....magic, fantasy, the Mysterious Romantic Moon and a secret road to a fairytale land....enjoy!

Magic of the Night ~ A Study in Blue

1/ Moon and Poe www.flickr.com/photos/83323987@N00/

2,5/ Tree's memory www.flickr.com/photos/macallen/

3,4 ,11,12 / nocturne a stroll www.flickr.com/photos/madsofa/

6,7/ Scary Sky www.flickr.com/photos/amitsphotos/

8,9/ The Bubble Magician www.flickr.com/photos/tjt195/

10,13/ Blue-Tree www.flickr.com/photos/ghostbones/

Listen to the Music of the Night at pastoraldreams.blogspot.com/

Whimsical Wednesday Hosted by Danimal

Okay, I must say I am a big kid at heart! I adore treasure hunts; the kind of treasures that are of a natural kind, like hunting for the mesmerizing swirling crystal fossils I adore discovering in the wild Canadian wood and incorporating into my whimsical art work; I must be some sort of bird because I adore glittery things. Treasure hunting for old things specifically very very old books and illustrations, church sales and garage sales and flea markets anything that has a link to the ancient past. Fairytales and Legends, Religions and Mythology and Halloween. Romantic Stories and Murder mysteries, Sherlock Holmes and Mackenzie King, Fairies and Spooky Ghost Stories. Spiders and webs , Owls and glass. The ocean and its lovely treasures and stories of pirates, the deep dark forests lined in their mossy velvet greens; the secret world of the Little Folk. A fragrant midnight garden filled with magical fireflies twinkling on a delicate black canvas ; they are the tiny helpers guiding the fairies in the darkly night . The iridescent light of the magnificent Moonflower twining up an old oak reaching high up its tallest branch to a hollow knot where my fav bird , the wise old owl lives. The snugly warmth of a chair by the fire on a cool night enjoying a glass of Grand Marnier and an old book while your best friend sits comfortably near by. A lot of very old movies, gorgeous pre-Raphelite art, beautiful Victorian , British Poetry, castles and old stone churches and homes. The British Isles and Wales, Italy and Canada, the gorgeous mysterious moon and the stars; as a matter of fact the whole entire Earth and universe.....life is beautiful even in the darkest corners.

Yes, I am a big kid and I think it is one of the secrets to enjoying life. Dan has invited me to join his group Whimsical Wednesday and I think its about time we all take a little break and look for our fairytale heart  and play the game. Thanks for the invite Dan.

 Click the Weedy SeaDragon to enter the Whimsical Realm

This is my submission for this week's Whimsical Wednesday.......Annabel Lee a whimsical self-portrait caricature

I created this whimsical self portrait ....I guess I kind of looked a bit like this when I was very young or thought i did...haha! I did have gorgeous eyes when I did them up  Egyptian style..lots of eye liner..haha!

I sketched Annabel Lee and then created the rest in Dreamweaver. I always adored butterflies, an obsession of mine since I was 11 years old when I first watched "The Collector". I loved the story, the acting and directing, England and the Ancient Roman catacomb belonging to the tudor home. I loved the feel of serenity and peace in the open country space the main character bought with his winnings and always dreamed of owning such a gorgeous forgotten solitary place....a lovely sanctuary. And the music....Maurice Jarre.......Doctor Zhivago......simply entrancing!

 I was born under the Pisces sign and of course everything to do with the sea is in my heart. Flowers, fragrant flowers, birds and old lace and Poe's poem all have much to do with who I am .....an incurable romantic....and loving it....reason for the crown..... Queen of Romance! The name of the portrait is Annabel Lee because my birth name happens to be Anna and hubby nicked named me Annabelle when I first met him ; he knew how much I adored Edgar Allen Poe's poem of the same name....slightly different in spelling. So here it is...a bit of Whimsy.

FAIRY'S Home In the Woods Paint Party Friday Week 7

This week's Paint Party Friday Week 7 submission is of a Fairy Door and Home done on 

Shelf Mushroom ~ Artist Conk  in wood- burning ( Pyrography ) and paint.

Lost the hydro last night.....Boy are we spoilt!!! My daughter was bored and decided to have a bit of fun playing with wax....Encaustic wax could be her calling...lol. Anyway, needless to say I was unable to complete the painting but needed some advise so it all worked out in the end.

Candle in the Night ....Romantic and mesmerizing, a beauty all their own

A Spider Web Window for a Fairy's Home in the Wood

Steps not sure how to give them more depth......? I also was thinking of adding a few bricks here and there to give the walls to the home some character and dimension..... maybe a little kitty sleeping by the doorstep would be a cute touch. Any suggestions are welcomed.

Love Lives Here

A Tree Knot Home for a Little Feathered Friend

My take on a Birch Tree Trunk

Fairy's Home in the Woods

Until next week Happy Painting

Update.....completed Fairy Home   " WildWood "

Annabelle >^..^<

Whooo's...... Afraid of the Dark? Paint Party Friday Week 6

First I must announce the demise of Deep Dark Sea......I just couldn't continue on it.....so many layers and where I wanted to go from there wouldn't have allowed me to do so, so I ditched it in the garbage on thursday with my daughter's blessing. I will  try my vision another time. So on to the new painting project..........

I had this Florentine Gothic gold leaf frame for some time now and thought about using it for a religious theme but guess what, I changed my mind.

I once again used my wood burning tool to sketch the design out on the old wooden frame and then painted in Weeps the owl under a full moon with water colour paints, acrylic and ink. Since the frame had some damage I needed to touch up some places where the gold leaf had worn down;luckily I had some gold leaf stored away just waiting to be used. I guess it waited far  too long for when I went to open the jar it wouldn't budge. I ended up having my husband drill holes into the top so I could use it. I have three more similar jars of varying leaf colours with the same problem. Oh well, I did say last week not to purge art supplies or leave them too long unattended so this was bound to happen. Good thing they are still good to use, very surprised.

So , here is my submission for this week's Paint Party Friday Week 6 .....

" Weeps .....is Afraid of the Dark "

Until next Paint Party Friday..... Happy Easter and have a great weekend.

Oh and many thanks to all who left me all the lovely comments last week....I did read them : )

Annabelle

The Hobbit Inspired Home ~ Paint Part Friday Week 5 ~ April 15th 2011

I'm submitting this Artist Conk illustration for this week's Paint Party Friday Meet ~ Week 5.

This art piece was an ideal piece to work with while sitting by the living room window pondering on the days that had unfolded. Unfortunately April 11/2011 will be one date I will always remember as a dark and dreary day that woke me in the early morning hours foreboding me something bad was to come . My mom had to admit her partner of 16 years in hospital, his cancer vengefully returned.The prognosis.....not very much time.

To continue on the the Dark Sea was out of the question; I just couldn't and so I decided to work on something I had more control over, actually any sort of art or blogging and such was quite difficult this week. Today my hubby goes in for eye surgery and then maybe we as a family might get a chance for some quite time and enjoy the Spring weather. So for now this is it....Hope you like it.

These are a few of my three dimensional natural canvas artist tree conks or shelf mushrooms I gathered in the wood some time ago for use in painting, pyrography, etching and sculpting fairy homes.

Usually when these are harvested you must give them a drying period of a minimum of two months.These have been dried for some years now. Then I applied gesso and sketched my design in pencil before using the wood burning tool.

Last week I decided I wanted to try my hand at creating a fairy's door on the natural canvas using a wood burning gun ( pyrography) .

As I was designing the door my daughter said it reminded her of Bilbo Baggin's home in the Shire

from "Lord of the Rings". After viewing some pics I realized she was right but my windows were not complete circles , the door's knob wasn't in the middle of the door and I had placed a spiral rhinestone window at the top of the door with a tiny silver heart beneath it; either way I think it could pass for both a Fae's or Hobbit's home....what do you think?

I placed a daffodil in a pot by the door; Hobbit's are partial to green and yellow and to us humans Daffodils are a symbol of Spring and Hope.

I'm not sure if I'll paint the illustration; I'll leave that decision to the end of the week and get some feed back from the Paint Party Friday participants. If I do paint it, I think I'll use pen and inks.

All I have left to do now is add a lantern to the top left of the door where there is a natural hole.Then I will seal the work with a matte varnish in front and a gloss on the back. This particular Artist Conk stays erect naturally so I don't have to support it in any way. Looks quite magical on a book shelf or mantel.

The more I ponder on weather or not to paint it the more I prefer the way it is...natural like found in a wood???

Like trees the rings on the shelf mushroom tells their age.

Just remembered as I was writing this post that I had gathered a entire box full of these mushrooms  but hubby cleaned up the garage and got tried of seeing them lying around so out to the compost they went, now I would like to gather a few more....lesson learned......should never purge art supplies and get to them in a fair amount of time....years are not acceptable....haha!!

p.s. Other visitors are also welcome to give their feed back on weather or not to paint the mushroom.

Check this article out....A really gorgeous Hobbit home:)

http://www.home-designing.com/2009/09/house-that-looks-like-hobbits-home-from-lotr

Until next time try this religion.....Kindness :)

Annabelle

Deep Dark Sea Paint Party Friday ~ Week 4

Somewhere lost in a deep dark sea......surrounded only by the glimmer of the moon's beams washing upon the peaks of the turning waves.

I would like to take this opportunity to excuse myself for not being in attendance last Paint Party Friday....sometimes the nasty beasts of life need to be confronted and cast away and all our energies are called upon to help in the battle. Even looking for some refuge from the storm with some art therapy does not always work, especially so when one such as I lack all of the required knowledge in creating a painting.

Well, I' not going to keep this a secret, I failed miserably!!!

Maybe my subject wasn't an easy one although at the time I thought it was....the sea, yes, the sea.

It tricked me into thinking I could create a beautiful seascape....no such luck!

I'm embarresed to say I must of tried painting the sea 30 some times and right after each perfect wave I would mess up and back to the sink to wash away my mistakes and try again only to waste more paint ; luckily, I used cheap brands. Yes and the color changed drastically.....talk about looking into my soul these past few weeks....eek.....very down.

Anyway..... on the bright side of things,

The good that came out of this experience is that I discovered many techniques such as using alcohol, salt and feathers on wet paint and that I must do some reading on the art form, practice some more and be more patient and maybe not be so stressed before tackling the Deep Dark Sea.....or should I say the Deep Blue Sea?

So here is where I am at the moment............hehe .....same as before kind of.....lol!

And my shimmering waves.....Seriously need help!

Until next Paint Party Friday.....Happy Painting , I'll be in the lab.

Annabelle :(

p.s. Will be checking in on all the participating painters in the morning...picking up my mom from the airport tonight.

Romancing The Stone - Eddy Grant (HQ Audio)