Tag Archives: Anne of Green Gables

Sunshine!

anne shirley 1

Anne Shirley of Green Gables talking to Matthew when he picks her up from the train station.

Recently an Etsy customer asks for an ARTBoard commission. Usually I get requests for Marcel the Shell commissions but this one is for an Anne Shirley of Green Gables quote.

This client has seen my other Anne with an e quotes and loves them. She wants her board background to be either a rainbow of color or a focus of blues and purples. She leaves it up to me but asks for a few stars scattered about if they will look good.

She puts down her deposit in the Commission ART Deposit section of my Etsy shop and after we discuss board size and price I work up a couple with her background color choices and send her photos.

She loves them both. I decide to put her quote on the blue and purple board as it is the size we talked about plus I am thinking it will be a better fit for the celestial theme room that she is decorating.

anne shirley 2

Anne to Marilla on the morning she is to be sent back to the orphanage because she is not a boy.

I complete the piece and take a look at the remaining board all primed and waiting for something cheerful. I decide to do another Anne Shirley quote and list it in the shop.

I set the original commission aside because I always like to live with a completed piece for a bit before sending a photo to a client to be sure everything stays satisfactory in my eyes.

bag of sunshine 1

I made her a surprise bag to hold her art.

I read endless pages of script discarding perfect quote after perfect quote because none seem quite right for this rainbow board. Finally I find just the right one.

After both boards are ready I send photos to my client. At this point she is under no obligation to purchase anything although her deposit (which goes toward final payment) covers my work so that’s spent. I explain why I am sending her two photos and assure her that she is under no pressure to buy either but she can have both (or just her original board) for x monies.

“Sandy,” she replies, “I absolutely love both of these! You had no way of knowing, of course, but my friends call me Sunshine, because they know how much I love sunshine.”

She bought both boards.

 

 

 

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Filed under Art, SLAP Boards

It Was a Romantic Way for a Mouse to Die

Recently good friend Valerie had some troubles with a Mouse in the House thanks to girl cat Lila bringing her new toy inside before Val could stop her. For days Val heard and saw the critter scamping around in the kitchen and pantry. Lila was having no part of finishing up her mousing duties.

So Val gets a handful of humane traps and sets them. No luck. Next she tries Snap A Trap. Still no luck. She and Robert can hear the mouse finding all sorts of treats in the pantry. After a day or so all is quiet. Val figures the mouse has moved on. She gets a bag of pretzel chips like these from the pantry to have a snack.

mouse chips

She retrieves a handful from the almost empty bag. The second handful is more exotic. One dead mouse body. A rushed trip to the bathroom and then a call to Robert, who adores his amazing wife and would do anything for her. “Oh poor mouse,” he offers. Val is aghast, “Poor mouse? What about your poor wife? I called you for sympathy. I think we’re done here.”

This fun to hear not experience story brought to mind one of my favorite Anne of Green Gables scenes which goes something like this. Anne has made the sauce for the plum pudding but neglects to cover it instead using the cheesecloth to pretend that she is a nun. Marilla tells her that she is lucky no mice got into the sauce. Anne is gathering her courage to tell Marilla that a mouse drowned in the sauce when Miss Stacy, the local teacher, knocks at the door. It’s dinner time and Marilla invites her to stay. Anne tries to convince Marilla that the dessert puddling will be fine without the sauce but Marilla brushes that silliness aside. Anne reluctantly serves the pudding and then at the last moment screams, “DON’T EAT IT, MISS STACY!” Everyone but Marilla get a good laugh. Anne sighs and says,”Well I suppose it was a romantic way to perish, for a mouse.”

(PS If you don’t see the clip that follows try another devise. It’s short but fun. I never could figure out a way to get it back onto YouTube.)

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by | January 28, 2015 · 2:08 am