I won!

Apparently, I have had a wonderful stroke of luck as I won Felma's giveaway and she (very very quickly) sent me my prize! The prize was one of her BEAUTIFUL dresses! I am so happy to have it to add to my collection and I am looking for just the perfect spot. :) But here are pictures!

So pretty! :) THANK YOU, FELMA!!!!

New project revamp, fun mail, and some banners

Hi all!

I have been wanting to update, but have had little time to do so. But I have some time now and want to share a few things with you. :)

First, I have been inspired to do a springy, happy scene lately (blame it on the cabin fever) and have been digging some cute owl pillows that I bought from Whimsy Cottage on Etsy. These are SO cute and I have yet to put them together. Maybe later tonight when I park myself in front of something on Netflix. :)

Anyway, the owls and my current musical fascination (okay, obsession) have led me to make a roombox dedicated to the great band Canned Heat. They are well-known for the song "On the Road Again" and "Going Up the Country" but are so much more than that (here are just a few examples). I am currently reading a biography about Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson, who was the musical scholar and creative force behind the band (though not to discount the talent in the other members) as well as the voice you hear in both of their hit songs. Okay, before this turns into a blog post about Canned Heat, I am going to quickly show you some pics! :-p

I was going to build a room box for the idea I had when I realized I already had one that would be perfect: the AG Minis roombox I picked up for an amazing price at the Real Good Toys Warehouse Outlet Sale last year (and blogged about here and here)!

Here is what it looks like now. I am going to be making some changes soon, but I wanted to share what I have now (because sharing is fun!):

This is the room so far. It's a bit frilly with the white wire furniture, but it really gives a retro vibe to it. I think I am going to put more posters on the walls.

These charms are from Hobby Lobby and are super-cute.

This is an old frame I've had in my stash for a while and finally decided to fill it with a picture of the band that I printed out on cardstock. (From front to back: Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson, Bob "The Bear" Hite, Henry "The Sunflower" Vestine, Larry "The Mole" Taylor, and Adolpho "Fito" de la Parra.)

I made these miniature albums and covered them in plastic to look more realistic.

Some baskets and a little chest charm that actually opens adds a little detail to the white wire shelf. I'll probably change this around quite a bit.

These fabric covered buttons are really cute. I bought them on clearance at Michael's craft store and they make nice little 1/12th scale throw pillows. Once I make up the owl pillows, though, I think I will remove these and use them for something else.

One more album sitting on the bottom shelf. :)

I plan on building a miniature turntable and stereo which will be in the corner where that wooden chest is. I'd like it to actually play music wirelessly from my phone, so I am going to play around with that idea.

The other thing I wanted to share was some lovely mail I received from Monika at PuNo's Minis! We had been involved in a lovely swap several months ago and she sent me a lovely surprise card for Easter with some cute little treats: a tiny chocolate bar and a little Easter book! I love them both! Thank you, Monika!

Finally, I wanted to share these little silk banners in my stash. I found them at a cool antique shop in Vermont and I thought I would use them for something. One is for Norway and the other for Peru. I haven't been finding any use for them and wanted to see if anyone here would have a use for them before I find something to do with them.

First come, first served. If you only want one, that's fine. Just post a comment below saying that you're interested and in which one if you just want one. We'll work out shipping details via email. :)

If I don't hear from anyone here who wants the banners by April 15th,  I'll likely find a place for them somewhere. :)

Here's a pic showing both:

(Note: That white sticker was the price tag on the plastic bag and are not on the actual banners.)

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!

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!

Mention Monday

The winds are picking up here in upstate NY and my work closed early today. We are staying safe inside and thankfully still have power! We have plenty of candles and flashlights should it go out, though!

Anyway, I am debating on what to do with this windfall of extra time and so I am considering some mini projects. I have lots of kits I'd like to make up and maybe even get some new holiday minis started. Who knows?

In the meantime, it is Monday and a long, long time ago, I decided that meant that I would mention some fellow bloggers out there that you might be interested in! Of course, it's been months since I had a Mention Monday post, but here goes...

1) Jazzi Minis is doing her Monday Link Party (as she does every week) over at her blog. You can include a link to your own blog and Etsy shop and check out what others have posted. I have found it's a great way to promote my shop as I have seen several shop views come directly from her Link Party! Thanks, Jazzi!

2) Illyria is having a giveaway of some amazing books she created that are perfect for Halloween or a spooky scene any time of the year!

3) My Miniature Menagerie just finished an amazing dollhouse, 120 Copper Court, with so much realistic detail, you just need to see it for yourself! To celebrate, she is doing a scavenger hunt-style giveaway! I loved the extra challenge in this giveaway since you get to look through her blog posts about building and decorating this beautiful house! So much eye candy! :)

There it is - an edition of Mention Monday. :) I'll challenge myself this week to try to post everyday through Friday. We'll see how it goes. ;) (And if the power holds out!!!)

A bit of an update!

Hello there!

It's been a busy week as I have started teaching again. Next week is going to be even busier, so I am enjoying a low-key weekend, watching movies and organizing some of my craft area.

I posted a video recently to my new Youtube channel (where I have moved all of my mini videos) about toys you can find in your local chain stores that would make good 1:12 toys. One of those that I had featured is a small plush bear and I adopted him into the Glencroft. :) He's a perfect fixture in the bedroom.

I will be doing a giveaway soon (nearly 200 followers!) and will be giving away a mini chest of 1/12th scale toys including some of those I had in the video and others I have made. I will be finding another of these plush little guys to include, too! So cute!

Anyway, I also want to show off some lovely items I purchased from an online mini business, Timber Ridge Studios, I had seen advertised on Small Stuff Digest. The owner, Ronni, has so many wonderful items in her shop and it is all very inexpensive.

Here are some of the items I picked up (already in the Glencroft):

The tiny buri pot came from Timber Ridge. It's very cute! I believe the lid is detachable, but I have left it attached and placed it in the living room. It's perfect for this house as I imagine the owner is a collector of items from all over the world, especially of items from Asia.

I also purchased that blue decanter sitting on the sink. The little stopper does come out!

This is a faux marble vase that I believe Ronni had turned herself on a lathe in her studio. It's perfect for some roses I had made!

I highly recommend her website. You should check it out. In addition to the items above, I bought some vintage lace, fabrics, tiny pine cones and garland, and microbeads. She has a lot of variety there and lots of supplies that are difficult to find in your local craft store (especially if you're not super-close to a brick and mortar dollhouse store).

One more thing I recently received in the mail were some neat kits from True2Scale. A few weeks ago there was an online dollhouse show with lots of great dealers. I decided to take advantage of some of the nice items that were being offered and picked up a forsythia in French pitcher kit and another kit to make up 4 lovely French pillows. Both are from their La Boutique Bleue line.

These items are packaged very nicely. The kits are tucked into silvery envelopes as you can (kinda) see below:

I haven't made these up yet, but I peaked into the pillow kit and everything is just lovely, including the detailed instructions!

When I do make these, I will be sure to include pics and let you know how they went. :)

That is all for now, I believe. I have an Etsy order to send to Spain (yay!). Hopefully I will make some time to work on a few more things. But for now, don't forget to check out Linda's Minis' Etsy shop for some fall-related items!!!

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! :)

Happy Saturday!

I picked a winner for my giveaway over on Linda's Minis facebook page! I am all excited to ship it out. :) Here's a pic of everything all wrapped up and ready to go. :)

I am just waiting to get her address (again) to send it out. She did give it to me once and I copied it down into a text file on my computer. Before I could save it right away, my computer suddenly decided to reboot itself and I lost the file. I also deleted the comment on facebook where she left her address for security purposes so I am just waiting for her to return my message. :( Ugh. I think I am due for a new laptop soon anyway. Sudden restarting like that is no good (and maybe I should learn to save things right away...).

Anyway, I thought I'd show you my latest purchase (from eBay) - a wooden dress form.

I am going to try and make a historical costume for it and place the finished object in my historical society. :)

I am also in planning mode for some *cute* projects. I found some items while out shopping the other day which would make fantastic containers for mini scenes. I don't want to give it away but if I whip something up, I will definitely share!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend, whatever you plan to do!

Wow - 3 posts in one day. This must be some kind of record. Anyway, I posted the photos of the giveaway items you could win if you become a fan of Linda's Minis on facebook! Check it out! Follow the instructions in Linda's Minis' most recent status and you could win! Drawing will be done on June 16 (THIS Saturday!) at 1pm US Eastern time.

FACEBOOK GIVEAWAY!

Linda's Minis just hit 50 followers on our facebook page! As promised, I will be hosting a giveaway of goodies over there! Be sure to check out Linda's Minis on facebook and "like" us so you can stay tuned to learn how to participate!

:)

(And if you've already liked Linda's Minis, thanks for your support!)

Road trip plans

Yes, this is mini related!

As I mentioned in the previous post, I will be visiting as many upstate New York miniature shops as possible and a couple in western PA! It gives my fiancé and I a perfectly good excuse (not that we need one) to visit some towns we've never been to, see some new sights, and check out some new restaurants, too.

So far, here's the list of shops we'll be visiting:
Lilliput Miniatures
Niagara Hobby and Craft Mart (which I discovered after watch MsMiniLover's video on Youtube)
Chautauqua Miniatures
Volant Miniatures
and Lynlott Miniatures

And unrelated to minis, because we like anime, Godzilla, and awesome Japanese things, we're also going to visit Joy's Japanimation in Greensburg, PA. :) Then off to my parents in central PA for some nice, relaxing family time. My mom just retired so we will get to spend lots of time together!

During the trip, I will be blogging each day about the on-road experiences, goodies I picked up and maybe some hints at a future giveaway! ;)

Speaking of giveaway, don't forget to check out Linda's Minis facebook page and LIKE it if you haven't already. At 50 followers, I'll announce a giveaway!!!

Summer is (almost) here!

Now that the semester has ended this month, I plan to do a bit of traveling. I'd really like to go to visit my family in PA. But I think I might take the long way...there's a string of mini shops along I-90 in NY, one in Volant, PA, and one in Pittsburgh, PA. I think it would be fun to go on a "mini" road trip. If I do this, I will definitely blog about the experience, with information about each of the shops, and maybe even pick up a couple of things for giveaways! I'll likely post more info on this as I plan it more thoroughly. What would you like to know about the shops if I pull this off?

If you haven't checked out Linda's Minis on facebook, please do so! We're at 30 followers (yay!) and there's a coupon code for my shop there. When we get to 50 followers, we will have a giveaway there (you have to "like" the page on facebook to participate)! So please stop by. The site is: https://www.facebook.com/LindasMinis

Hmmm, what else...I am dreaming up some new stuff for the etsy shop as well as planning my next project.

And because I like to include a pic with every post, here's a photo of some fern fiddleheads on a class field trip a few weeks ago! Happy spring!

Announcing Linda's Minis Facebook perks!

Linda's Minis has a facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/LindasMinis

If you "like" this page, you get news of the latest happenings and additions to the Linda's Minis Etsy shop.

If Linda's Minis facebook page gets 30 likes, all of the fans will receive a coupon code for a discount in the shop. When we reach 50 likes, there will be a drawing for a giveaway for a free item!

Check out the page and share with your friends!

GIVEAWAY WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT!

I had the pleasure of choosing the winner of my (1st ever) blog giveaway today! First of all, I want to say I am SO EXCITED about the response from this and I want to welcome all of the new followers of my blog since the announcement of this giveaway! I plan to do more giveaways in the future, so keep watching. :) And I hope you like what you see. :)

Anyway, I had 41 different commenters on the Giveaway blog post, so I listed them in Excel. Then I used random.org to choose the winner. Let's see who I (or rather, random.org) picked. :)

So congratulations to Doortje! 

You are the winner of my first blog giveaway! I have sent you an email, so please contact me there with your address and I will send out your prize as soon as possible!

Again congratulations, Doortje and THANK YOU to everyone who participated.

GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally! The post you've been waiting for!!!

I have 102 followers! Originally this blog was put up with the attention of cataloging the building of my first dollhouse and has turned into so much more! I've met some wonderful people here, seen some amazing work which has inspired me as I read all of your blogs, and get to share some neat things I find which I hope inspires you in your hobby!

So to celebrate, I am giving away a box of craft goodies that are fit for a miniaturist but may cross over into other hobbies (scrapbooking comes to mind).

Here's a pic of some of the stuff you'll get.

The goodies you'll find in here came from all kinds of sources. Some were bought at the Real Good Toy Outlet Sale last fall, others are from my fabric/scrapbook paper stash (I tried to pick prints that are suitable for 1/12 scale), and a few things are some extras I purchased just for this "grab box." Last but not least is a 10.00 gift certificate to my own business, PeaceCrafted Products. We make our own bath and body goodies, including salts that smell great and are good for you! I hope soaking in a tub of our salts relaxes you and inspires your creativity!

So what do you need to do? Well here are the rules:
1. Be a follower of this blog.
2. Comment on this post!
3. Get the word out and share the fun! I made the icon below that you can post to your blog and link back to this post!

I will be drawing the winner on Sunday, February 26 at NOON EST. You have two weeks!!! Best of luck to all of you!

Pottery from Carolyn Curran

I noticed I have 101 readers. Welcome new folks!!! I am going to announce the blog giveaway on Sunday, so stay tuned!

This weekend, I am treating my significant other to a weekend in the Lake George area for his early birthday present. We visited a few lovely antique shops and had a lot of fun today.

One particularly awesome find were these lovely little stoneware miniatures created by IGMA fellow Carolyn Curran.

Apparently, she used to live in this area (Warren County, NY) but has since moved down to North Carolina. I found her autobiography on her eBay page here: http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=carolyn-aka-cncpottery

Apparently, her work has been sold by the Museum of American Folk Art in New York City and the Smithsonian. I am very excited to have found out about this artist and her work as I haven’t heard of her before. I love this kind of stoneware pottery in 1:1 scale, and finding it in 1:12 scale was pretty awesome. There were many more pieces of pottery like these in the antique shop but my bank account would have hated me for picking up everything! :) 

However, I am tempted to go back and pick up a couple more pieces and do a display...

Would anyone be interested in getting one of these pieces for themselves? I am here until Sunday and could pick some more up…