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:

----

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! :)

Holiday Swap package received!

Mandy Vlak hosted a Holiday Swap on her blog, Mini Modern Mind. I was lucky to participate, even though I came in a little late. Another blogger, Annie, had also asked for a partner after the deadline and so we were paired together. Here is Annie's blog: Petite Wonderland. Do check it out!

This swap was very cool and I had a lot of fun putting it together!

According to Mandy's page, 

"Each swap has to contain six items.

Nr. 1:  one of the items must be something big! Like for instance furniture...
Nr.2: the second item has to be an accessory. What kind is totally up to you
Nr.3: the third item has to be something for a dollhouse Christmas…
Nr 4: the fourth item has to be something that’s related to the room I’ve picked out of the hat for you.
Nr. 5: the fifth item has to be something you’ve made your self. This can be whatever you can think of!
And Nr 6:  is a surprise item."

 There was a lot of room to have fun with this one! 

Well I just received my package from Annie today and wanted to share the awesome goodies she sent me!

First there was a lovely card:

 Then, in box #1, some "big" items (aka furniture):

I love these!!! They are similar to a saucer chair I have in my (real-life) bedroom AND I love white wire furniture! They're perfect!

Next, came box #2 (accessories):

How generous! Two beautiful Mexican woven rugs (I think I have places for these!), a cute little bird house and bird feeder, as well as some adorable little pots!

Box #3 had Christmas stuff in it, and this is what she sent:

Working Christmas lights! I love these! I think I might have to see how these look on the Glencroft. :)

Next is Box #4, something kitchen related (that was the room Mandy picked for us):

So cute! Some dishes (everyone needs dishes!), an adorable little rolling pin and mixing bowl, and a cute little retro cookbook!

Next came Box #5, something handmade by the sender:

Annie, I love these!!!! The pillows are perfect with the finest detail! And the little knitted pieces could be couch pillows, floor cushions, meditation cushions, smaller scale bean bag chairs - so many possibilities!

And last, but not least, box #6, which held some special surprises!

A little chest (I love these!), a skeleton, and a jacket. I love the variety of the items you sent along, Annie!

Thank you so much for a fun swap! I hope my package made it there safe and sound!

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

HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY WINNER(S)!!!!

Hi everyone!

Welcome to December! Wow! I can't believe how quickly this year has gone by.

We had some snow overnight so I woke to this dusting on the ground...

Hmm...kinda gets me in that holiday spirit!

Speaking of holiday spirit... ;) Today is the drawing for my holiday giveaway!

Now, since I opened the giveaway a couple weeks ago or so, my blog followers have hit the 200 mark and I have over 105 subscribers on Facebook. I want to thank ALL of you for following along with my adventures in this hobby!

So, on to the part you've been waiting for!
*drum roll please*
Random.org picked a number out of 40(!) entries from this blog and facebook and chose:

This matches with: 

Congratulations, Kelly! I will announce this on facebook, too! Please message me on facebook or email me at lindasminis @ gmail . com (without the spaces) with your mailing address! Thanks!

But wait, there's more!

I didn't want to leave my blog readers out of this and have decided to draw for a second prize!!! The second prize is a little surprise with some holiday goodies as well. So, I grabbed all of the names of the people who entered here on my blog and drew a second number...

This number matches with:

So, Jazzi, you have a special happy mail surprise coming your way! Congratulations! Please email me at lindasminis @ gmail . com (without the spaces) with your mailing address! Thanks!

And, again, I want to thank ALL of you for your comments, friendships, and also your very very fun blogs to read!!! I read everyday and love to see the wonderful creations out there! Miniaturists are really an amazingly fun and creative bunch! And do stay tuned for some future giveaways - these are just too much fun!

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!

Holiday 2012 Giveaway!

That's right!!! I finally decided to go ahead and do a giveaway for all of my wonderful followers here on the blog AND on facebook! I was going to wait until I hit a follower milestone of 100 on facebook or 200 here, but I am close enough and can't wait! Hahaha!

So, here's what you get:
Lots of Christmas trim, including silvery and blue snowflake garland, red beads, and some neat pine-style stuff that can be used for wreaths or for evergreen garland.
Some antique lace doilies
A mini tree
Red and green books
A wagon
A gift bag and tissue
Cookies in a tin from my shop
A green scarf
Some tiny toys (including Zinkies and a Filly Princess - all of which would look good under your dollhouse holiday tree!)
Some wreaths you can use to make your own Christmas decor!

Here's how to enter:
1) Be a follower of my blog and leave a comment on this entry!
2) Optional: share on your blog!
3) For an additional entry: Like "Linda's Minis" on facebook and comment on the Linda's Minis facebook status about the giveaway (Link: https://www.facebook.com/LindasMinis)

Get your entries in by November 30 at 11:59PM US Eastern Standard Time. I will conduct the drawing on December 1 at Noon (US EST).

Here's some more eye candy!

Cross-stitch

Hi all. I just want to share a small cross-stitch project I finished this evening. I've been working on it off and on just for fun. I've been in the mood to do needlework lately and decided to start with something simple.

Here it is:

The piece of canvas I used was intended to be a bookmark, but I think it makes a nice dollhouse rug. :) I am going to start on an embroidery project next, I think. I picked up a pattern from Etsy for a vintage PA Dutch distlefink design I have been wanting to do. I'll share it when it's complete!