Joining the Etsy Bandwagon!

Well, I've finally taken the plunge and joined Etsy! I've wrestled and wondered if there would be anyone interested in buying my work and realized there was only one way to find out... :)You can visit my shop at antiquedaisy.etsy.com if you are interested. While I currently have 3 items available, I will be adding more in the next day or so and creating more based on demand. Mostly though, thanks for all your support as you read this blog and share your gifts online in your own blogs. Thanks for coming along the journey with me!

A Little Sunshine in my Life!

Look at the little bit of sunshine I found on my blog today! Thank you to Kathi and Susan for sending this blog award my way! It really is a joy to get to "know" some of you online. Thank you all for sharing your gifts, talents, and thoughts and taking the time to follow my blog. In this busy day and age, that really is a compliment!

The Rules: Pass it on and let each person you award know that you have awarded them.

Now to the hard part; the rules are that I have to send this along to 6 blogs...only six! I'm trying to narrow it down to those of you that may not have received one of these yet so...

Please visit these wonderful blogs. Just click on their name, and you'll be linked right to them:

Shannon has wonderful French flair and made an incredible French Shop. She doesn't blog often, but it's worth the wait.

Visit Heidi and see wonderful antique and vintage photos and advertisements that will add beautiful details to your mini world.

See Karin is you love to do-it-yourself. Her specialty is links to all kinds of tutorials.

Brae is putting toether an ingenious, modern house with lots of crisp and beautiful details. and is generous to share how. Take a look!

Artisans in Miniature is a great blog and has a FREE, yes FREE, online mini magazine every month! Look in the sidebar on the right of their blog for the link.

Tiny Delights shares wondeful detailed pictures of her miniatures that look good enough to frame. Beautiful work!

Blessings! Daisy

So tiny, so much time!

Have you ever noticed how it's the tiniest things that take the most time? I made some polymer clay tiles and then handpainted them. I loved it and had so much fun that I didn't know how much time had gone by and frankly, I'm afraid to figure it out! :) They are about a 1/2 inch by 1/4 and as you can see, I had to stick them on a strip of tape just to hold them still for the painting. They also still need a little shiny glaze of some kind (more time!). Someone in the family (who shall remain nameless! :) ) didn't quite think the time was worth the itty-bitty results. I respectfully disagree. So, have you ever had a project that was so tiny in the final product that you wondered if it was worth the time and energy?

I *Heart* My New Work Area!

My wonderful, thoughtful valentine bought me a new table for my work area and I love it! My old work surface was a 2 foot by 2 foot former kitchen nook table that had seen much better days. I was always having to move one project to start another and shove items aside to pull out my laptop, etc. You get the picture! :) Now look at the pictures below! Yeah, space! It's bright and cheerful and an inspiring and girly place to work. I guess this means I'll have to keep it clean now. :) Thank you, valentine!

House of Many Colors

Ever have a style that you admire but that you just can't seem to recreate? I love the shabby chic style and thought that I found just the right colors of light blue, ivory and "bamboo." Unfortunately, the blue looked like bright cornflower blue. Just mix in a little gray and... no dice. Still an unfortunate color! I only wish it looked as good as this picture does. So, what if I use that bamboo tan for the body and the blue could maybe be a trim color? Nope. Wedgewood green? Italian sage? "Go bold," my husband said. Try dark colors. He thought red... I thought it looked like a barn. I want subtle and sophisticated. Right now, I have patchy and uninspired! :) Help!

I've found an inspiration photo that I like, but would it work? (<--Click on the word "photo" to see it). I really want the outside of this house done! Any ideas?

A Second Painting Secret!

A new follower sent a comment asking about my Orchid's bedroom trunk and wished that she could see it closer. Well, Sans, and other miniature friends, here you go! You can click on this to enlarge it. Careful, this lets you see the errors too! :) This ability to enlarge photos applies in almost all of my posts, except for very early ones when I didn't understand the formatting.

The first painting secret I shared was to use dots. So would you like to know the second painting secret that I use? Scroll down... The secret is stamps. Simple enough, right? Most "secrets" are. This intricate design is made by a scrapbooking stamp and then carefully painted using toothpicks and pins. I've grown in my ability to do that tiny kind of painting since doing this trunk but this would be any easy enough technique that you could apply in your own mini work. For a different effect you could use differing colors of ink and skip the painting. First, apply the inks directly to the stamp. Since this takes a minute or two, if the ink starts to dry, don't worry. When you are ready to stamp blow your breath on it (a huff like you're going to polish glasses) to dampen and reactivate the ink. There are so many wonderful sites that can give you stamping advice that's better than mine if you'd like to know more. My best advise is to have fun with it. Get out those stamps and start mini-ing! :)

Dot to Dot

Can I be completely honest? I'm afraid to fail. About 3 weeks ago, I registered an Etsy account full of ideas that I could share what I do and earn a little money for our family in the process. Now, three weeks later, there is still nothing listed. I'm doubting myself! Making my minis was such a joy when I thought it was just for me, now suddenly I'm thinking that someone might not be as charmed by the results in real life. I just can't seem to get over that hurdle.

Well, on that cheerful note :), here is a little shelf unit that I've painted. Remember that I once said I'd share a couple of painting secrets? Dots! That's one secret! Something about a design made of tiny dots looks so complicated and charming but anyone can do it! So grab a toothpick and some paint and start dipping and dashing a design! You might be amazed what you can come up with.