Tiny Treasure

A family friend was at a garage sale and spotted this precious little room. Imagine my surprise when I got home and found this treasure in my mailbox! The outside is covered with bark and the windows give a perfect view of this dainty meets rustic, retreat. Scroll down to the last picture to find what really makes it special....

Isn't that amazing! What a lovely little inspiration piece! Thanks again, friends!

A Contest & an Excuse to Buy One More House!

Greenleaf Dollhouses has come up with a wonderful new kit for their annual Spring Fling contest! Isn't it great? I love how multi-purpose this kit is. Click here if you'd like to go to their site and see more views or even order one. It's laser cut and fits together beautifully so far. Last year I chickened out and did not enter the contest, but this year I challenged myself and took the plunge. I'm a nervous wreck! So silly of me, I guess, but there's time constraints (as I'm teaching full time, tutoring, finishing my masters and being a wife and mom!). Then there's people judging my work too. All very nerve racking but I'm choosing to have fun with it. Unfortunately, I have to keep the project a secret for now, but as soon as the contest is over, I'll go back and blog it all. Good luck to any of you who are entering the contest too.

For those of you who are looking for an excuse to buy one more dollhouse or kit, here's one my husband came up with. My husband practically insisted that I order this kit even though I have 3 already that I'm still working on (one is just finishing details). His reasoning: The reason I don't completely finish my houses (which drives him nuts) is because I love the process more than the end product. Therefore if I have a new kit, I'm more likely to completely finish one of my old ones because I have a current project to work on. How's that for logic? Let me know if that excuse works for you!

Sweet Butterfly

I finally figured out punch needle! Every other time I've tried punch needle (kind of like latch hook in mini), I just keep pulling the thread out as I go along and end of up with a chewed up scrap of fabric with holes punched all through. Pitiful. I must have used the right fabric this time though because the stitches actually held! I was just playing around with a scrap corner of a larger pre-printed cross stitch. It's rather sloppy and lopsided, because I was just stabbing away, waiting for it to become my usual mess. The fringy edges are from the backing fabric that I frayed a bit. It's a beginning, anyway!

If you'd like to see some real art and punch needle inspiration, you should really check out Katie Arthur. I love her Early American, colonial style work. Just click here to travel over and say hi :)

Kreativ Blogger Award

A big thank you to Mags and Rachel for kindly sending on this blog award! I used to look at those on other blogs and wonder, how do earn one of those? Now I know! :) I've been incredibly busy so my apologies for not posting sooner.

The rules

1. Thank the person that has given it to you.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that nobody knows.
5. Nominiate 7 Kreative Bloggers.
6. Post link to the 7 blogs that you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs nominated.

Click on the names below to see each of the 7 blogs that you can visit;

all very talented bloggers generously sharing their gifts:

Eva

Les Carnets de L'Atelier

Cote de Texas

All Tiny Delights

Lisette

Donna

Lea

Little Daisy (This is a bonus- not a blog but pics too cute not to share!)

7 Things about Me:

1. I am an office supply nerd! Can't stay away from new pens and clips.

2. My parents were hippies; hence the name Daisy.

3. I love my work but it's very intense; minis are my emotional release.

4. I am not a celebrity worshipper.

5. I love watching recorded shows in the wee hours of the morning.

6. I am a chronic procrastinator.

7. I am an antique fanatic furniture but only own one item! How did that happen?

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?