Garage Sales this weekend.......

I had not intended to go to any garage sales. We passed one on the way to the store on Saturday and just had to stop. Well, let me tell ya.........awesome. The lady had a whole bunch of china. I could not resist at least some of it. She also had an old singer sewing machine table for 40 dollars, said she would come down on it but I could not think where I would put it. Silly me. Oh how I wish I had just got it. I always find a spot and have always wanted one. She was not open next day. Some of the things I found at her place................ This little lamp. Replaces one that needed a new shade. This plate fits right into my environment.............. I had to get this tiny tea set...........its so cute. I will keep it to give to Reina when she is older. I found more Violets, a plate this time and a tiny plate too. I have not washed them yet. Some of the others are really pretty too. I will be glad when I can get back to doing collages so I don't use so much space. Lovely hand painted things This one is a lovely colour and beautiful painting. At that sale I also got some really nice winter tops. She has great clothes and they are lovely. The second sale I found some peach glass like I have been collecting. I wish I could have got more. She said she will be having more sales and you can be sure we will go. Laura got an antique table and chairs for 75 dollars. These are my finds. This lady had really good prices and so I bought quite a bit of stuff. I wont post it all here as its rather diverse. A rock with a hole in it (don't ask)A big basket, a wicker doll carriage that I bought some ivy to put in it. A white bird cage to hold a plant when I get it back together. So much stuff. Why am I thinking of going back I might ask?. I got this plate from my in laws and also the dish and bowl. They went with what I had already collected. I got one other dish from them. I am sharing this post with A Delighsome Life Enjoy some other lovely blogs featured there.

Petoskey Stones..................

Where we live here in Northern Michigan, one of the fun things we get to do is to search the beaches for Petoskey Stones. This one I found at a building site. A Petoskey stone is a long dead coral that lived in Lake Michigan, unique to our area. It shows that the water was once much higher and inland. There are many sea corals and fossils in our soil here. When we walk the beaches we always have our heads down looking looking looking for the illusive Petoskey stone. It also is a knack. It becomes easier once you find your first one. Why the fuss? Well when polished it is quite pretty and as its so rare it is becoming valuable. When walking on the beach this is what you may often see. It takes just a little getting used to but once your spot your first one it does get easier. Often its easy to find them when they are dry............. When polished they all look different. Some are really worn because they are soft, the wash of the waves rolling them on the beach will wear them down. They are all unique in design and can be made into jewelry and many other things. Find a big one and it becomes worth a little bit. They are becoming more rare each year. A lot of local craft people have made jewelry, usually silver. Clocks and other things are common and pretty for tourists to pick up as a real souvenir. Certainly not made in China..............so if you come to Michigan, to where I live this is a fun thing to do. You will see people walking on beaches with noses down and now you know why.

Beautiful mystery............

How much more beautiful could anything be than the Unicorn. The mythological beast. Is it really a myth? Take a look and you tell me.......is it wild imagination, or something from a perfect world of long ago? We see the crests of waves break against the shore and can almost see those White horses............... especially when the crests are blowing in the wind throwing up clouds of mist above the wave. It does not take a lot of imagination to see them. This beautiful grove could be the home of any of those beautiful creatures but looks like a fairy is hanging out there today When I was little I remember reading a book "Rupert the Bear" and one of the stories was about the Mare's nest. Well for some reason it really sparked my imagination and so for that reason I must include the Pegasus among those beautiful beasts of yore. Mystic Horses Mystic horse with rainbows run, Golden horn that shines in the sun. She hides from humans watchful eye, The very last refuse to die. They dwell in hidden secret glen. Remnants of a time when..... Eden was right here on earth. Gone now till man can prove his worth. May 2012 JKS

Unfinished business...............

I never seen to get the time to sit and actually accomplish much these days. Having a two 1/2 year old just does seem to dive into my craft time among other things. I am actually getting lots of photo's done because I can download those and play with them at night. That is usually when I work on my blog. As this is supposed to be about crafts as well as just my collections of "stuff" I am feeling a bit guilty. I did record some 1/2 finished drawings in my photos so I will show some of those for now. Then of course Photobucket changed and so did blogger, so that means relearning everything that came naturally to me before and takes more time. I have to get out into the garden this afternoon so this post will be short and sweet. I just want to show ideas I am playing with. Things I just did for the heck of it so I don't forget the "thought".......... A long time ago I drew this mermaid, with the idea that she would be in peacock colours but more muted than that. This rough sketch is just the idea behind what I would like to accomplish. She has her back turned as I think one would only get a picture of a Mermaid if she were unaware of our presence. She is dreaming and so she was captured by the viewer. This lady caught in April showers is the idea for a cushion to be made and embroidered. A pencil crayon sketch of Geraniums. I need 3 pictures to do a triptic for my bathroom. This one was done long ago and does not have the look I want. SO I think I must do it in watercolour. This is just to remind me I need to get that done A rough sketch of my Granddaughter Alexandra ............In posting this I see the problems with the sketch. I can redo it maybe a little more accurate. I was just inspired at the time but it's just not good enough. I am never happy with my work. This to remind me that all pictures do not have to be realistic looking.............sometimes just draw for fun.