New Garden Benches in Etsy

So..... A long time ago, I realized my love for magazine pictures meant I had to have space to store them. And generally it was only one or two pictures in the whole magazine that I wanted to be able to go back and look at. So..... I started cutting out the pictures and throwing the magazines away. Then, through the years I stared gluing them in a book. Then it became 2 books, then 3... and so on. Now I have a book for house ideas, recipes, clothing, art, gardening...... Yes! I have a lot of 'books'/binders now~ And could actually use a new one, but that's neither here nor there. Anyways..... I've been spending some time looking through them to get ideas on what else I wanted to build.... And these little benches keep popping up....

I've seen them in the garden....

I've seen them at the foot of a bed....

I've seen them in kitchens....

And I see them in real life. One of our neighbors has a bright yellow one on her front porch.

So, now I've made some in mini.......... I used dollhouse molding for the sides......... and as usual, it's been crackled and aged! ....and sealed with an acrylic sealer.

LOL- You believe I'm almost out of crackle medium- and I'm not over it yet, WOo-who!!

Until Next Time....

*Ohh wait.......Made some green signs last night that read Organic..... hopefully I can get them listed over the weekend....

See what I mean...

I have run out of room in here! As much as I love this little house, It is just too small!! It's OK though...gives me an excuse to buy/find another house. One day..... when I find a bigger 'shop' this little glass house will house the wicker furniture Casey made for me....Until then, Casey's stuff is staying in the box- don't want the kitties to even see it....And I'll just keep dreaming of a bigger glass house.

I have so much stuff on the floor in here...I don't know how customers would even be able to walk around. Terrible!

The little birdhouses need to make it up on the wall..... so do all the signs I've made.

The big birdhouse (the one with the green roof) was a gift from Mercedes..... And so was the little nest to the left of the picture- on the candle stick. They are 2 of my favorite things:)


See the big K in the lower right corner of the pic? I just love that! The leafy stuff came from Ira, it's in a vase I bought at the dollhouse show.

The blue chair, and pillow and flowers were a gift from Jody (one day will someone please teach me how to make it so when you click on Jody's name it will take you to her site....please! It would make things so much easier:)!!

Also thought I'd show you the pic I made for my Etsy site..... I've gotten several requests for personal signs, and needed a pic to show that it was a custom order. I went with my blackberries as a back drop~ So me:) ......and speaking of the blackberries- It's crazy how many vines I have this year, that stuff has really settled in well. Wonder if I can try and make Jam this year...sounds fun?!

OK.... that's it for today. If you get a chance, stop by my store.... I just listed some benches that you might like:)

Until Next Time.....

The Church

One of the things that I saw repeatedly this trip, was churches! I'm not a church person myself, But I Love buildings....and there's something about a church that really makes me smile.

As with most of my bigger birdhouses, this one is hollow, too!

The windows and doors were stamped using a carved pencil eraser.... I use these a lot! And leave the pencil attached~ it will give you something to hold on to.

I have 2 more of these to finish before I can list them..... and I'm definitely keeping one for myself:)

I can't say the idea was totally mine.... I used this picture as a guide. But isn't that what minis are all about....recreating in miniature what you love in the real world?! And I love this Church!! I love how it's sitting on an end table with the flowers and those little jugs! It's going to be perfect in The Painted Lady! (I'll have to get pics of the glass house so you can see what a mess it is...I have way to much in it, but love everything too much to take anything out. lol.....sounds like my real house:)

Oh, and the title of the book that it came out of is Better Homes and Gardens~ Cottage Style.

Until Next Time..........

From Around the World..

Not to long ago, Sans was blogging about nesting dolls, so I thought I'd add in my 2 cents. Both my father and my step-father were in the military...and they traveled a Lot..... I remember being a kid and waiting for my Father to open his suitcase, to see what he had brought home this time......One of my favorite things were the dolls!

This first one is stamped with a sticker that says made in the USSR. I'm thinking I've had them for over 25 years.


These next ones came from my Step-Dad. I do believe they came from India?! Correct me if I'm wrong...please!

I do believe these last ones also came from my Step-Dad. The bigger one came from Hawaii....And I do believe the wooden one came from Korea?! Then there's that pin cushion that we all have....We actually have 2, a pink one and this one.....one for me, and one for Cora.

I do love my dolls.... I love how they're all so different! .......I had to put a bug in Dad's ear the other day the my collection wasn't complete, lol. I'm hoping he heard me, Cora needs her own collection, too, Ya know:) ....... and What about you..... Any dolls in your collection??

OK

Until Next Time....

An Update in Katie's Corner

First... I finally got the barns up in Etsy, if anyone is interested?!

So...

As easy as it might seem, It took me a couple of years to find that little glass of chocolate milk. Isn't it funny how something so tiny, can make all the difference in the world? I drink a glass of Carnation Instant Breakfast every morning....so it only seemed natural to have a glass on my breakfast tray! And while I was in here..... I went ahead and put my DREAM houses above the bed~ That's a shelf of shells that it's sitting on.


Next, it's on to the dresser. All the way to the left is the nesting doll I bought a while back.......And, while I'm here, I wanted to show you what one of my candles looks like in use. I'll have to get a pic one day while it's lite.

Before I go, I thought I'd show you all the houses together....I've been working on these since November, I think?! And if you look close, you'll see some benches that I need to get listed, too.

Alrighty then...

.....Beware, I have several random posts to get to this week.....LOL

Until Next Time

The Barns....

Isn't it just the cutest thing?? I tell ya! I'm in love with the barns:) It's for a barn owl to live in...... It's a Barn Owl Barn!! lol

And look! There's even drainage holes at the bottom, you know, so when the owl uses the potty, the funk can drain....lol!

The big barn measures 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 2inches....

And then there's a couple like this..... If you notice I used 2 different reds in the making of the barns. One is more of a bright red, and the other one has an oxidized red tint to it.

These ones don't have drainage holes, and they're for the regular birds.

....did I tell ya they're hollow inside? Here they are before they got there roofs......and holes.

These will be going up on Etsy later.....But, I'm kinda stuck with them....meaning......I keep asking myself if I should age them...you know, add brown and green paint around the edges....But for some reason, I like them just as they are! Any suggestions?

OK....So Let's go back to the beginning.....

In the past few years, I have been blessed with being able to take a few trips with my sister....And for some reason....I am Very attracted to the barns and farms....Maybe it's because growing up, our neighbors were farmers....Dad used to have the farmer drop manure over the fence so he could use it in his garden....Or it could just be the fact that you see them, over and over again all the way from here to there. Either way.....I felt like I needed to try some in mini.... And this is where I started:

Beautiful book, with beautiful sketches.....and some history lessons....

Between the books I got from the library, and the pictures I took on my travels....I have lots of ideas.... I do have several plans for more barns sketched out...I just need materials now...

Until Next Time

New Etsy Listings...

Just wanted to let everyone know, that in between blogging, I will be trying to get all the birdhouses I've made listed on Etsy. You can find the link on the right side of my page:)

Look, I put pegs in this one...Although I was reading somewhere that the birds don't even use the pegs~ I still like the look of them! I also used decorative posts this time.


And then there are a few of these little ones.....

All of the birdhouses are hollow inside.....

Hopefully it's sunny again tomorrow.....I only got a small fraction photographed today before I slept all afternoon....And now that it's 2am, I'm wide awake, Nice! lol

SO

Until Next Time