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My old car was starting to give me issues and the adage of "I don't have a car payment" wasn't exactly true when you count up the dollars I was spending on repairs. I had this gut feeling that I was getting close to having to do some major repairs, so I traded it in for a Toyota Sienna.

I did alot of research on Consumer Reports regarding safety and reliability and the Sienna kept rising to the top. I bought a slighly used one so I wouldn't have to pay the new minivan price.

I'll have to tighten my budget so I just listed a bunch of stuff on EBay and Amazon. There are 2 events I want to go to and I'm going to have to raise the money if I want to attend. I have so much stuff that I've been meaning to sell, so I'm getting off the pot and getting them listed.

Sell, Sell, Sell!

Good Morning:

It's that time of year once again....the dreaded beginning of "Spring Cleaning". Grout cleaning, appliance shining, doo-dad dusting and all sorts of other laborious tasks. I always enter into the season dreading the big cleaning, but once I get started, I find myself re-connecting to my home. I have so many pieces around my house that were passed down to me from my mom and aunts. Old tea sets from my grandmother, whom I never met, as she died before I was born. Nic-Nacs given to me by my kids when they were tots. So many memories surround me, yet so much of the time I find myself walking through my house but not really seeing what's in my home. Spring Cleaning allows me to literally touch memories, to carefully dust these precious gifts that sometime become overlooked.

Now, don't get me wrong....I am not a fan of the basic labor of cleaning away grime from general living. I don't like mopping the floors or cleaning the kitchen grout (which, by the way, I use diet coke to clean the grout as it works wonders). But... when it comes time to really dust the nic-nacs and re-arrange the china cabinet, I find myself getting lost in some of the sweetest memories of my life.

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I have 3 new ACEO prints listed in My Etsy Shop.

Johnny On The Bridge


Sunny Day In Germany


On With The Honeymoon


I wonder sometimes if I should be more specific about what an ACEO is. I'm sure some folks that read my blog must wonder what the acronym stands for:

"ACEO" is an acronym for "Art Cards Editions and Originals". ACEOs are collectible art cards always measuring 2 ½ X 3 ½ inches. That is the size of a standard sports trading card. The rule about size is the ONLY rule in the ACEO world. An ACEO can be created in any medium the artist desires: paint, collage, colored pencils, ink, etc. There are even ACEOs made from wood, clay, fabric, and metal. They can be originals or prints.

ACEOs are tiny art works that can be matted and framed to hang on the wall. Many people display their ACEO collections in the same kind of plastic sheets and albums that sports card collectors use. You might slip an ACEO into a greeting card as an extra surprise for a birthday, anniversary, or Christmas. ACEOs sell on Ebay and Etsy for anywhere from ninety-nine cents to over one hundred dollars or more!

I love making them because I enjoy working small. I love tiny detail, so making ACEOs are perfect for me.

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Well, I best be off. I have an appointment with a grout brush...

Until Next Time
Kim
Garden Painter Art

Some interesting items I’ve come across this week.

This post was actually written back in January by Brian Cassidy. The 18 things he’s learned in 2007.
Here’s my favorite one:

6) Books ain’t money. Books don’t even make me money. I make me money. My overhead, time, and expertise create value. Please keep that in mind next time you think I’m being unreasonable offering you $100 for a book I’ll sell for $300. If you would like to rent a space and buy a reference library and catalog your book and list it on the internet and drag it to book fairs and wait who-knows-how-long to sell it, please be my guest. But if you want money today, please don’t insult me by suggesting you’re somehow being cheated. [More…]

Still on the topic of learning a few things, Chris from Book Hunter’s Holiday shares some ideas on getting a real education on rare books. *We’re still hoping Chris will write something for us.

When I decided to become an antiquarian bookseller, I wondered how I could obtain the kind of specialized knowledge that adds value to books. Was this knowledge something I should possess innately? Was it something that could be taught, and if so, where could I go to learn it? Did antiquarian booksellers ever share their research secrets? In answer to these questions, I learned that several things help build the knowledge of an antiquarian bookseller: experience, education, and expansion. [More…]

From one of my favorite sources on all things book, The Americana Exchange comes a bad buying experience on eBay. Many of us buy stock there and those who don’t are missing out on a great source. But buyer beware, there are many folks selling books on eBay  that you shouldn’t deal with. Asking a few questions or insisting on a couple of extra photographs may prevent this from happening to you:

When books, more than with pamphlets and ephemera, are posted for sale the risk of problems and the possibility of undisclosed faults increases. The material is simply more complex. Many sellers protect themselves and their reputations by describing uncertain material as “poor,” “needs to be carefully evaluated,” or “sold not subject to return.” Every seller does it differently but most do it. Many provide images of faults. [More…]

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via daddytypes.com

It's no longer available. (Maybe there will be another print run?)

Good Morning:

I thought I might take this opportunity to stop by this morning while my mom's resting. I had a look out the window a moment ago and it looks windy and crisp. The Palm Trees across the street are whipping every which-a-way. The howling wind makes my mini-schnauzer nervous and/or giddy (he's not sure yet which way he feels). Personally, I love the wind. I love the sound of it creeping around the corners of the house. I love the movement it brings. Everything in the garden is alive in the wind. The birds can be seen riding the waves, soaring and darting. Outside my windows, there's life in the wind. How I envy those soaring birds...

I've found it comes very easily lately to get lost in sights, lost in thoughts and lost in books. Late at night and early in the morning hours, while my mom is sleeping/waking...sleeping/waking I've re-discovered "Alice". I haven't read "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland" and "Through The Looking Glass" for years. What a lovely place to run away to...so many Anthropomorphic animals and flowers. I remember as a little girl (maybe seven and a half exactly?) being fascinated by Anthropomorphic animals and I reckon that may be why I portray my own animals in such a way within my collages. And...although I was never a fan of Disney's portrayal of "Alice", I do remember the "Alice In Wonderland" ride being my most favorite ride in Disneyland. Well, that's neither here nor there, but I truly am inspired by the magic within the books. I am currently enjoying the silly banter between Alice and Humpty Dumpty.

Oops...I hear my mom calling. She's ready for some oatmeal. I'll quickly share a few pictures of my newer pieces. I haven't worked this last week, but these are current as of a couple weeks ago.

And speaking of Anthropomorphic animals, this collage is called "Rabbit's Celebration". It's a 6" x 8" on canvas



Here's a close-up of the Celebrating Rabbit



And these are my two newest ACEOs...

Rabbit Visits The Country ~ my 203rd ACEO



Amelia's Lovely Girls ~ my 204th ACEO



I haven't the time to post a link to my Etsy shop, but these are all available there. You can find the link in the upper left hand corner.

I'm off...back to reality.

Thanks for having a peek at my blog as I truly appreciate it.

Kim
Garden Painter Art

I'm having a little sale on ebay.


You remember these pieces from earlier in this blog, right?

Well, if you lusted after them before, now's your chance. They've been marked down a whopping 45%!
(I'm not sure how I feel about putting my work on sale, but it seems to be the way of things, and in the spirit of the new year, I figured what the hey.)

They're all 5 x 7 inches, done with Polychromos, and matted with an 8-ply matt. Yes, 8 ply. They'll fit into any 8x10 frame.

Such a deal. Go. Splurge. You know you want to.

Here is the Top 10 US out of print books as compiled by Bookfinder. These books will make you some money. Once a Runner for example regularly sells for over $200. Not bad for a book that is less than ten years old. You’ll also notice at number 8, Alice Starmore. Many books by her will do very well for you!

We also look at eBay sales daily and record final values. This list matches right on with what we’ve seen. We add about three titles per day, to our scouting book . You do that and after a year you have a nice record of a thousand books that will make you money. Now bring that with you next time you pop into a bookshop and you’ll have a nice tool to help you pick out some under-priced gems.

1. Once a Runner (1978) by John L. Parker, Jr.
   The cult classic distance running novel; the long-awaited sequel, Again to Carthage, was released in November
2. Football Scouting Methods (1962) by Steve Belichick
   Legendary college football scout’s playbook, used by coaches and players to develop winning game plans
3. Sex (1992) by Madonna
   The pop icon’s controversial book of erotic photos
4. Promise Me Tomorrow (1984) by Nora Roberts
   An early novel that the bestselling romance novelist refuses to reprint, describing it as “mediocre”
5. The Lion’s Paw (1946) by Robb White
   A children’s adventure story about two orphans who travel around Florida in a boat
6. The Principles of Knitting (1988) by June Hemmons Hiatt
   An indispensable resource on hand knitting
7. Raven: The Untold Story of the Reverend Jim Jones and His People (1982) by Tim Reiterman
   Chronicles the inner workings which allowed the Peoples Temple to flourish
8. Aran Knitting (1997) by Alice Starmore
   History and how-to about the Irish knitting technique
9. One Way Up (1964) by John F. Straubel
   The story of of helicopters and vertically rising aircraft
10. Dear and Glorious Physician (1959) by Taylor Caldwell
    A novel based on the life of Saint Luke

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NOTE TO SELF: How sad and pathetic that eBay allows this "auction"

Talk about living off the avails of a dead person. Is it just me or does this news item leave a bad taste in one's mouth?

Anne Frank's tree may be doomed, but you can have a chestnut from it for only a few thousand dollars.

Charles Kuijpers, who lives next door to the famous house in Amsterdam where the German-Jewish girl was hidden from Nazi occupiers during World War II, has put what he says is a chestnut from the famed tree up for auction on eBay.

Anne wrote in her diary, which became a bestseller after her death, that during the two years she was hidden in the house's attic, the horse-chestnut tree was her only reminder of the natural world.

"I had this idea for a few years, then I saw that the tree was in the news and I decided to put the chestnut up for auction," Kuijpers told Reuters.

The tree, estimated to be between 150 and 175, has been in poor health for several years as it fends off parasites, and municipal authorities are set to tear it down Wednesday, pending a court hearing.

In August 1944, Nazi police raided the hiding place, and Anne and her sister Margot were deported to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where they both died during a typhus epidemic in March 1945.

British soldiers liberated the camp in April. Anne Frank's body has never been found.

It would be acceptable and even a commendable act if Mr. Kuijpers would indicate that he plans to use the money from the auction towards some type of charity that helps homeless children or children living in war-torn countries.

Thanks to everyone who has played along and bid on the four copies of Revolting Librarians Redux that KR and I have on ebay as a fundraiser for the EFF. The auction closes tomorrow and has already raised $80+ which may be a drop in the bucket but I’ll be happy to send them a nice thank you note from the librarians for all the work they’ve done and continue to do. update: thanks everyone, the books got a bunch of bids and went for $21/each. $84 to the EFF!

Good Afternoon Bloggers:

I've been busy this morning listing a bunch of my original ACEOs on eBay. I haven't listed there in a very long time, but I thought I would give it another whirl. Listing helps to get me in the mood to create some new pieces!! Here's what I have listed on eBay.

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I have a little running around to do today. I'll swing by my mom's place to organize her meds for the week, then I'm off to the grocery and then to my dear friend's house to see her new Golden Retriever pup. Tomorrow....The Beach!!! So, I've just stopped by my blog briefly today to say hi and keep in touch.

Until Friday:
Kim
Garden Painter Art

Did you see the recent eBay auction featuring the 1941 children's book Parasols Is for Ladies by Elizabeth Ritter and Ninon MacKnight illustrator. The winning bid was $51. This is the story of three black girls who want parasols, but can't afford to purchase them. The book apparently is written (and illustrated) with negative stereotypes. Believe it or not, there's TWO Amazon.com reviews of the

I just bought not one but two sets at ebay of brand new 120 color pencil sets! Seems I was a little too enthusiastic and tried to cover all my bases so I bidded on a few sets at the same time. I'm too good at manifesting. Anyhow, these babies sell for over $130 in most catalogs and stores. I am selling one PRISMACOLOR 120 COLOR PENCIL SETS. Great if you will be taking a class for the fall semester. My listing is at EBAY. Go check it out and make a bid! click here to see listing.

Okay, so the way this week was supposed to go was that Saturday (the 21st) I was to celebrate my birthday. Done! With a wonderful day that was textbook perfect, much unlike last year's birthday where I spent 5 hours in the emergency room with a broken finger, surgery, reaction to medication etc.

Then Sunday was to be spent listing a bunch of my figurines about reading and writing on Ebay.I knew once we moved that I had to streamline the collection. I actually had hoped to do it before now but well, I'm running out of time at the end of every day. And the big push is now since Ebay is having a sale on the final fees and those darn things tend to add up fast.

Anyway, I took the pictures but man oh man did I ever forget how long it takes to do a single listing. I was going to download the program to help but after reading the info on the latest version and how much trouble people are having with it I decided just to do it the old fashioned way. I don't have all of them listed, only 23 so far and there are probably another 50 or so that will be going up, but for now if you are also a collector of figurines that have something to do with reading or writing or books, you might find something you like here.

Tonight I'll list more and then next the day and hopefully they'll all be listed by Friday night. I've also got, but not listed yet, some great mugs for writers that I bought from a store that was going out of business. I'll get those up soon too.

Oh yeah, and I had planned to write this really great post about blogging and my current life and the battle I'm fighting with balance but that's gonna have to wait too. In the meantime, some of you might like to go shopping. :-)
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZstb95123QQhtZ-1

Well, here it is, early afternoon already. I've spent the morning listing some of my original collages and some ACEO prints on eBay. I haven't listed on eBay in months, as sales were so slow over there. BUT...I've decided to give it another whirl. I love the excitement of the auction format. I don't know how my collages will do now, but I figure one more chance can't hurt!

Here's the link to my eBay listings: gardenpainter4

I am off to the post office and then to the grocery. On these sweetly calm days, I don't have much to blog about, yet I am compelled to drop a line here anyway.

I should have a new collage to show here tomorrow, and hopefully, a fresh and interesting blog entry.

Thanks for checking in and reading my entry even though I have absolutely nothing to blog about.

Until Tomorrow:
Kim
Garden Painter Art
gnarly-dolls
Kim's Kandid Kamera

It's the most wonderful time of the month.
Yep. The Bookseller Blog's Top Selling eBay Books list for January is up and out.

$14,000.00 - Anne of Green Gables April 1908 First Impression - RARE
GBP 2,850 - PETER PAN 1906 ARTHUR RACKHAM BARRIE 1st VELLUM SIGNED($5,631.32)
$5,000.00 - L. Frank Baum A NEW WONDERLAND inscribed in 1900
$4,649.99 - Hardy Boys #9 Great Airport Mystery ~ 1930 RED 1st HBDJ
$4,000.00 - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - L. Frank Baum, WW Denslow
$2,916.00 - Hardy Boys #7 Secret Of The Caves 1929 RED 1st Ed HBDJ
GBP 1,400 - RARE SIGNED1ST/1ST NOW WE ARE SIX A A MILNE 1927 HB/DW($2,766.26)
$2,750.00 - Winnie the Pooh by Milne, A. A. SIGNED 1st
$2,500.00 - Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain First
$2,500.00 - 1910 Boy Scout Handbook 1st ed - Seton / Baden-Powell !

Please check out Ms. Smith's additional comments on how boy series tend to outsell those about girls, how the movie releases of Eragon and Charlotte's Web affected sales, and a mysterious censored Disney book that reveals Walt's racism.