Shop update and other things!

I've been pretty busy doing several things over the past few weeks and just realized it's been a while since I posted here! And, yikes, I have some reading to catch up on to see what's happening in all of the blogs I've been following!

Hmmm, what has happened since the last time I posted?

- Well, I have been working on a swap with Faby via Jazzi's Christmas in July Swap! We've received each other's gifts and I will be posting real soon! (I still have to take photos!)

- I also participated in a second swap with Mini*Aesthetics who was interested in my dollhouse quilt and I made one for her. Pics will be coming once that swap is complete!

By the way, if you see anything you like on my blog or in my Etsy shop and want to do a swap or trade, I am very open to it!!! :)

- I have been taking up quilting (in 1:1 scale!!!). I made a quilt for our couch - slightly smaller than twin size - to use up excess fabric in my stash. I will post some photos of that, too! (I have a lot of pics to post!!!)

And that's only craft stuff, and doesn't account for work (in which a nice personal accomplishment was made) or day-to-day stuff. This summer is a busy one.

Our Etsy shop will be going on vacation from July 9 - 19. I am happy to announce that I will be doing a sale from NOW until Monday, July 8 at 5PM EST. Use the coupon code July42013 to receive 25% off your order before then! (Here's the link: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LindasMinis)

Hope everyone is doing well, and for those of you who are experiencing any heat waves are staying cool!

Cheers,
Linda

Tote bags are now in my Etsy store!

I got several positive responses for my tote bag I made yesterday, so I made a few more. I added two to my Etsy store!

Click here to go to my Etsy site

 

 

Click here to go to my Etsy site

I really enjoyed making these (and yes, they do open and you can put stuff inside!). If they sell, I will make more. I also take custom orders on my site, if one wants a specific color or extra flourish (like the flower I added in the tote I posted yesterday); just click "Request Custom Order" on the left-hand side of my store's page.

Wedding bells! (and Etsy sales!)

So, I don't know if I mentioned this too much, but I am getting married on June 8th! It's coming super-fast and I am quite excited.

We are trying to take an eco-friendly, DIY approach as much as possible. I even made my own bouquet! Here's a peek...

Those are ribbon roses and flowers. It took forever to make but it was totally worth it as I know it will last a very long time. I made two more, smaller, ones for my maid of honor and bridesmaid. :) I am planning on making a wrist corsage that matches for my mom, too.


As we are going away for the wedding, I will be putting my Etsy shop on vacation (from June 4-11). BUT, I wanted to give a little gift to all of you, so from now until June 3, you will get 30% in my shop if you use the coupon code WEDDING2013.

I will be posting a few more times before the wedding. I have been re-organizing some of the houses and perhaps I will do another book review, time permitting.

Hope all of you are doing well!

Cheers,
Linda

Coat hook for a dollhouse?

Hi everyone!

I want to share with you something I have been working on and maybe get some ideas. I don't know if this will be something that ends up in the Etsy shop or what, but I was playing around the other day and made this:

It's about 1 1/8" at its longest. I think it would make an adorable little coat hook in a shabby chic cottage! (Or maybe fancy curtain rod hooks?)

I got these little resin pieces from a shop online (I think it was Beady Bom Bom creations, but she closed her store) and they have been sitting in my craft area for a while trying to figure out what they wanted to be.

I had bought some clip-on earring findings at the craft store as I remember reading about their many potential uses in several places throughout the mini craft world. Well, I was playing around with it and got the hook above (on the left). There's a little hook on these which needs to be cut and filed off (I should pick up some metal files) for a smooth edge, but they are relatively easy to work with.

Here are the specific earring backings that I picked up (at Michael's):

I might make more of these and maybe even do a tutorial if someone is interested. They are exceptionally cute!

Oh, I also added some new stuff to the Etsy shop today (including the cinnamon rolls!) so please check it out here.

New Items on Ebay and Etsy and the Creative Everyday Challenge!

Just a heads-up that I have updated my Etsy shop with some items AND I have added a few things to eBay which may be of interest to you.

First, on Etsy, I've made a bunch more crystal balls with colorful bases. I love these vintage bead findings; they are so bright and cheery!

I have also added these vintage glass balls which are much too big for 1/12th scale gazing balls but could be fun in other applications...

On eBay, I have listed this Holly Hobbie collectible wall telephone miniature (seems a little big for 1/12th scale):

And last, a lot of 6 American Miniaturist back issues from 2005 - 2010:

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Okay, now that the shameless plug is all over and done with, I did want to highlight something I am trying this year. On several other craft and mini blogs, I have found mention of this cool Creative Every Day challenge and I think it's a great idea. I am pretty busy, but it's nice to make some time for creative activity. However, there are times I get a bit stuck and don't know what to work on. I think this challenge will be helpful in lighting some creative fires and at least act as a bit of springboard for new ideas either for ongoing projects, new projects, or the Etsy shop. :) You can read more about it on this page and sign up on this page! I am looking forward to reading what some of the other participants are working on! :)

Birthday gifts!

Last weekend, my fiance treated me to an amazing weekend in Vermont for my birthday. We stayed at an awesome little place called the Manchester View (in Manchester, VT) and enjoyed a fireplace and a lovely Victorian-decorated room. I loved it!!!

Not only did he treat me the whole weekend, but he spoiled me with some wonderful (crafty) gifts, too. (And a dress from the Marimekko outlet!!!)

Anyway, here's the eye candy:

The little shelf with hooks and basket are from Memoriesnminiature on Etsy. The book is one I have been wanting for a while and has lots of cute crafts, many of which are definitely applicable to miniatures. :) Maybe I'll share some stuff I make from the book. :-D And of course, a cute little maple leaf punch which are really hard to find in any of the chain craft stores around here. :)

 The cute little stamp is from Terbear Collectibles, also on Etsy. And of course, more HoM stuff to grow my collection. The book is one I think I already have in my collection (my bad, since I likely didn't update whatever wishlist he used). He mentioned he didn't mind if I did already have it, that it would be good for another giveaway. ;) What a sweetheart! I will announce that in the new year.

It was a fun birthday and we had a lot of fun.

Today, I have been getting ready for Christmas. I made gift card holders and money holders for some of our family members.

And I decorated the dollhouses, too. :)

I still have lots of baking to do, as well as wrapping presents, but I have most of my shopping done, which is nice. :) I hope all of you are having a good holiday, no matter which one you celebrate. :-D

Featured Friday!

Hi everyone,

I am still full from yesterday's Thanksgiving dinner! It was so good. My fiance and I stayed home this time but will be traveling to see both of our families (they live 4-5 hours apart from each other and over 4 hours from us!) over the Christmas/New Years' holiday.

Lots of fun things going on out there in blogland! I am excited to have entered into a swap and can't wait to put that together. I'll post more on that later. :)

Since today is Featured Friday, I want to show you what I just added to my shop yesterday!

These are vintage pieces of artwork. I made the frames for them. I found a bunch of these recently; I believe they are originally from old cigarette packages? And from the information on the back, they may be British in origin. I have three available at the moment, but if there is a flower you are looking for that isn't included in the listing, I may be able to find it (I would need some time to check my source). These would be cute in almost any setting. :)

Hmmm, what else has been going on? Well, we didn't brave the crowds for Black Friday. I have a Christmas list ready and a good number of the people on there are already taken care of, or will be easily. The rest are likely to receive homemade, handcrafted and/or locally purchased gifts. No need to fight the crowds, something I am definitely not interested in! lol

Here's a photo of the cross-stitch project I had shown you previously here on the blog. It's now in its current home in the historical society:

I think that's it for today! Don't forget to enter my giveaway! You can enter here AND here (I pinned the relevant status at the top so it will stay there for all newcomers)!

Hope everyone has, or is having, a fabulous weekend!

New items added to shop plus a few more treasures

So I just added some new things to the shop! :)

They include: two cool little crystal balls and the prep board, which includes the tray, a little jar of apple butter, English muffins and a tiny knife.

I've also made a couple things that might go into the shop, but I haven't decided yet.

 This little work table needs a few more touchups on its paint before it goes into the shop, but that won't take long, so expect it to be added pretty soon. :)

These were my first attempt at peanut butter cookies, but I didn't get them in very uniform sizes, but they are cute. I also need to get some clear glitter to better show up as sugar. But these are pretty festive. I am planning a Christmas-themed giveaway so these may be included! :)

These oranges and lemons are going to be part of some colonial Christmas decorations that I am going to be making for the shop soon. :) Can't wait! They were fun to make, too!

And lastly, this crystal ball was my favorite! The bead is a little irregular but it will look great in the herb shop, so this one is for me. ;)

I hope everyone is having an enjoyable day! 

Featured Friday: Food!

It is Featured Friday, where I feature an item or maybe several from my Etsy shop! Today's feature are a few food items I have made that are for sale, just in time for a harvest banquet scene! ;) First up is a set of bowls of beef stew. :) These were a lot of fun to make!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/106887013/beef-stew-set-of-2-bowls-112th-scale

I also want to feature one of my personal favorites: a bread board with challah, a knife and a little jar of honey!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/96645073/ooak-dollhouse-miniature-challah-bread

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed looking at these! :)

Stuff I've made recently

So the last couple days, I've been busy at my desk just brainstorming ideas and making things. I've just been in the right mood lately and I find it very pleasant to sit and create.

Here are some of the things I've been making since Monday:

This is a sign I made for my desk area. :) I got the idea from watching so many craft videos on Youtube and a lot of the crafters there had made these cute signs. Maybe I'll use it in a future video!

These are some new crystal balls I made. I'll be adding them to Etsy very soon. I like these new bases. :)

This is an experiment I have been playing with. It's a lotus floating in a bowl of water. I found some plastic flowers at A.C. Moore and repainted them to look more lotus-like and I put them in an acorn cap filled with Triple Thick/Mod Podge Dimensional Magic. It seems to work. Perhaps I'll make more and/or do a tutorial.

I finally made a sign for the historical society! I named the little town it is in "Kleinburg" because I needed something that sounded German/PA Dutch and "klein" means "small" so...I think it's pretty obvious. ;) It was fun to make and it even has that aged, weathered look! Here's a pic of the whole front porch. :)

This is a Daisy House Kit bed I put together tonight. I was going to dress it and consider selling it, but I like it a lot and might replace the brass bred in the Glencroft with it. I do need to make a mattress as the ones I had bought do not fit quite right. I will enjoy dressing this, though! I love the blue accents. I am also thinking of painting the unfinished part, but not sure what color, I think I'll go really light or really dark with it.

I hope you enjoyed the eye candy! :) I have a few ideas for Christmas minis as well as some other stuff for the shop, so stay tuned.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

I'm having an Etsy Sale!

Type in HALLOWEEN when checking out in my Etsy shop and get 10% off! Today and tomorrow only! (Ends 11:59PM US EST on 11/1/12)

*Blows dust off the keyboard and starts typing...*

Well it certainly has been a while since I updated this blog! The semester affords me little time for creating art, and certainly even less time for writing about creating. Yikes! I have managed to catch up this past week, though, and even had some time that I took to relax at my desk to make some things. Many of these ended up on Etsy, so check there for some brand new crystal ball designs, a witch hat, and a new knitting basket! :) (Here's the link.)

I have also spent a little time today making curtains for my Glencroft dollhouse! I have been debating about what type of curtains to make and how to install them and today I found a nice, easy method involving barbeque skewers and wooden pony beads to do so.

Here's the living room:

 Hmmm, those pics make the curtains look uneven, but I swear the panels are the same length! Really! :)

I also made a small sheer panel for the bedroom:

 

(By the way, the material from both curtains came from free samples I received in the mail from Smith + Noble. They have a very wide selection of home decor and window treatments...I recommend their site.)

As you can see (from comparing the last post's pics to the above), I changed the bedroom around a bit. I like the more open layout. :)

Yesterday, I made some lovely new crystal balls (as I mentioned earlier). I made one that I just love and can't bring myself to put on Etsy so I put it in the Glencroft. :)

 

You can see it just beyond the little metal box. The base of the ball is a metal acorn cap. :) Love it!

I hope I will have more things to post soon, especially for the holidays! I do want to welcome all of my new followers and I am keeping an eye on both this blog and Linda's Minis on facebook to prepare for a giveaway when I hit the next milestone on either (200 here, 100 on facebook). So stay tuned!

Featured Friday

I have been busy with prepping for the new semester, but also fitting some last bit of summer crafting in...and therefore have added several items to my Etsy shop this week. I am excited to say that 1 item has already sold! If you want updates of when items are added to my shop so you don't miss out, please check out and like Linda's Minis facebook page!

Anyway, here are just some of the items I've added this week:

Crystal balls with a Celtic knot base (I have added several different styles of crystal ball to my shop - please feel free to look around!)

Scratch-built occasional table with tile top

Rehabbed vintage dollhouse furniture (There is a matching dining room set listed as well)

Pumpkins

Again, this is only a handful of items that I have recently added. Please check out my shop for more goodies! I hope you see something you like!

Gardening scene in a lantern - update

A while back I posted a gardening scene in a lantern in my Etsy shop. I have been waiting for an order of LED lights and finally received them today. Now I am including a light in with that lantern so the buyer can light up that scene! I love how the light adds to the realism and the general adorableness (is that a word?) to everything!

In other news, I have received my swap from Monika and can't wait to see what scene she makes from all the swap participants! After she posts her pic, I will post mine (I would hate to spoil the surprise for the other participants if they read this blog!). All I can say is that I have a little container full of CUTE things sitting on my work desk right now!!! :)

Feature Friday

I just wanted to show you two new things I added to my Etsy shop this evening.

First, a set of red velvet cupcakes, cake, and vintage lace doily. If your 1/12 scale scene is themed around a wedding, party, or bakery, these would be perfect!

Here's the link to Etsy for more information.


Second, I made a twin mattress to go with this bed. I am selling them together and you can outfit them anyway you'd like!

Etsy link here.

As always, if you see something you like, but you want in a different color or style, just convo me and I'll see what I can do! If I can make it happen, I'll put a reserved listing on etsy for you!

Stuff and things...

So, since my last post, I've been busy doing this and that and rather quiet on the minis front. But, within the last week, 4 things have made their way out of my Etsy shop and on their way to folks in Canada, Australia, and here in the States!!! So excited!

One of those items turned into a trade for some beautiful jewelry, which is awesome! I am happy to do trades for items, too, in case anyone is interested. Just convo me on Etsy and we'll work something out. :-)

I am trying to make some new items to add to the shop so it stays full. :) I made a batch of items today, most of which will make it into the shop. Not sure about a couple pieces; I might have another go and see if I can improve on them. We'll see.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The postman brought me some goodies today!

Very recently I won a giveaway on Little House at Pine Haven's blog. I won some adorable pajamas and slippers! Gail even threw in some beautiful notecards, too! Check out everything below. I've already placed them in the Glencroft bedroom. :)

 As you can see, she even included the Shoe Box! :)

Here are the lovely cards:

If you haven't yet, do check out Gail's blog. :) She makes some beautifully detailed miniatures!

I received another package too! I had made a small order from L. Delaney's Etsy shop. She has a lot of miniatures that would fit perfect in any historical scene. I bought some leather kid gloves and two Lincoln books. :)

Both are very detailed and lovely! I recommend her shop and she ships really fast! :)