Freebies, Give-aways & Contests

It is Stéphanie's very first etsyversary, having been completed one year on Etsy as a seller and having sold 568 items. She specializes in mini food that looks authentic enough to be real. I just love the postings of new food that she's created and if I can someday make clay food that looks half as good as Stéphanie's, I'll be ecstatic!

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Go over and take a look at her other creations and be sure to enter her contest:

She is giving away 35 USD that you can spend at her shop whenever you want in 2009 in one or more times!

This give away is open until the 10th of May

RULES:
To enter this give away you have to live on Earth and be a mammal which doesn't live in the sea......unlike other contests that I've mentioned!

You may have several entries:
1 entry: Leave a message telling of your 2 favorites items in her shop
1 entry: Tell her what you would like to see in the shop (must be a new idea so verify if this isn't already shown)
2 entries: Blog about this give away (with an image from the shop)
1 entry: Tweet this on twitter
1 entry: Join her facebook page
1 entry: tell her a joke

For every entry leave a comment !
The winner will be chosen randomly!
Good luck to everybody!

Projects

I've been away for 4 days helping my mother clear house. After living in the same house for 45 years, this will be the third house in the last ten years that she has moved to. It's absolutely awesome what a person collects in a lifetime. When my father-in-law died, it took a month & a mountain of garbage to clean out the house. Being a packrat myself, I hate to think what my kids will have to go thru.

I'm going to take a break from finishing the Orchid interior to make some roomboxes, two of which will serve as a birthday present. My daughter-in-law's birthday is the end of August & since I work by gosh & by golly, I figured that if I start now, I might finish by then. As she's travel crazy, I'm making a travel roombox inside a suitcase for her. As well, I need to work on one baby, one gardening & 2 birthday roomboxes.

At the same time, for the past month, my house has been turned upside down due to a roof revamp. The new roof is built, most of the metal cladding is up & all that's left to do is the ridge, soffit & facia but half the kitchen ceiling needs to come down so it can become vaulted, 2 skylites still have to be installed and the new mud room enclosed & finished. What all that means is that half my kitchen is being stored in other rooms and since we had already downsized to move into this house, I really, really can't find anything.

At least the weather is finally cooperating; it was 27 degrees today. Last year we missed the fabulous fall weather, waiting for our building permit. When we finally got started this year, we had to deal with rain that managed to invade & leak thru every ceiling that didn't need work done to it. Ain't renovations grand!

On a happier note, my purple hyacinth & white anemones are in flower & looking great together, and our dock is back in the water. There is nothing nicer than drinking your morning coffee on the dock overlooking the lake.

So now that I've brought you up to speed with my real life, let me tell you about my mini life:

What you're looking at, are my first attempts at making clay fruit. Since I'm going to need 2 birthday cakes and several clay makings for the garden room, I figured I'd better get learning. To my way of thinking the easiest fruit to create has to be apples & pears.
I know, I know.......what's that got to do with cake? Nothing but it's better to start slow.
I worked from a CDHM tutorial by Barbara Dezza & I can't remember being this nervous doing something new before. I'd read so much about noxious fumes if the clay burns and about underbaked clay crumbling that I got myself a toaster oven & baked the clay outside.
I'm pleased with how they turned out and if I ever want to stage a fruit stand, I'd have enough apples & pears even if every doll in the neighbourhood went on a buying spree.
I'll have some roombox photos soon.....

contest addendum

Doreen, after reading the contest rules for the Zoolabees Dollhouse Miniatures, mentioned that this contest is open to US residents only. So I contacted Heather to ask why. Here's the response I got:

Thank for contacting us with your concerns.
We certainly understand that the interest in our products is not limited by national boundaries. We know there are many customers around the world, not just in the United States and we regret not being able to allow everyone to participate in our giveaways.
In order for us to hold a giveaway or sweepstakes on our site we must comply with the legal requirements in every territory in which the contest is available (on the Web, this means virtually the entire planet).
However, it is simply beyond the scope of our group to comply with contest laws around the world. Thus, our posted rules satisfy the requirements for U.S. participants only. When Canada and other countries simplify their requirements for on-line contests, we will be able to allow our giveaways to cross international borders. Thank you again for contacting us.
Best Regards,
Heather Collier

So I guess that our collective governments should get on the ball & update their rules & regulations to reflect our current world situation...... and quit trying to come up with new ways to grab more tax dollars out of our already economically challenged pockets.

Welcome, Bienvenue, Wilkommen

give a big welcome to:
Miriam from Germany, fairystudiokallies who creates the most exquisite dolls,and miniatures from polymer clay. I especially loved the realistic little mouse.

Sylvia from the Netherlands, lotjesdollshouse who's doing a lovely flower shop.

April from Michigan, Every Little Thing who's creating the house that she wanted as a child....a Beacon Hill

Moti from Malaga Spain, ooakminis and solominis. She makes the most delightful little people and ooak babies

Kim from Minnesota, flowerkim who is currently making a pink tea shop roombox.

Ingrid from the Netherlands, myday-ingrid writing about her life and hobbies.

The best thing about blogging is that it brings the world to your doorstep and allows you to see how other people live, their hobbies and their interests. It lets us see what incredibly talented artisans there are and what the rest of us can aspire to.

Freebies, Give-aways & Contests

Enter to win $100 dollhouse miniatures shopping spree at Zoolabees.com!
Zoolabees Dollhouse Miniatures is an online retailer of dollhouse miniatures including dollhouse furniture and accessories, miniature building components, miniature lighting, dollhouse kits and dolls. See below for sweepstakes entry instructions and rules.
Sweepstakes Instructions & Official Rules:
1. Prize includes $100 electronic gift certificate to be used towards the purchase of any in-stock merchandise currently featured on our website.
2. No purchase necessary. Complete the sweepstakes entry form below and hit submit. One entry per person.3. Double your chances of winning! Go to www.zoolabees.com and register for a user account (one account per person). Please note that you must also submit the sweepstakes entry form below in order to participate in this sweepstakes. If you are currently a registered user of Zoolabees.com, please contact us at customerservice@zoolabees.com to notify us of the current registered user name on your account. Upon verification, we will submit your second entry.
4. This sweepstakes will run April 20, 2009 through May 20, 2009 and is open to individual legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia. The last day to enter is May 20, 2009. A winner will be randomly selected from all eligible participants and notified by e-mail on May 22, 2009. Prize to be awarded within 1 week of notification. Return of any prize notification as undeliverable will result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner.
5. Entries generated by script, macro or other automated means will be void.

finished at last.....thatching that is.

It's been a long time since I actually showed any progress on my Tudor house.
I could use any number of excuses....March school break, one heck of a nasty flu/cold that seems determined to hang on & plague me with a tickling cough forevVver, the new roof that's causing the entire house to be topsy turvy and means that half my kitchen is unusable and then we had about a weeks worth of lovely weather that had me enjoying the sun and doing nothing else, and, and, and.......
So here I am again, the weather is back to cold & wet. Our roof is built and we're just waiting for the steel to arrive so it can be finished. The kids are back home and in school. And I guess I can't use my cough as an excuse any longer.
Some months ago I had found a big huck of raffia at the Goodwill Store that seemed perfect to use as thatch. So with no further ado, I'll just let the photos tell the story:

If I had to do it over again, I would have used fur like everyone suggested. And if I really thought about it, I'd have used shingles which seem to be easier. But then this is my first, evvVver doll house that I've built. What do I know! I thought about using leftover chair caning material to "stitch" down the top layer of thatch but I think this is how it looks and how it will stay. I rarely redo. So instead I'll get the interior ready for Miss Eloise to move in. See you at her grand opening....

Happy Easter !

your help is needed!

First off, thanks for all your sympathy & hugs.
I know that the leaks are temporary and will provide the perfect excuse to paint the kitchen. I never did like the color that was used by the previous owner.
Supposedly we are due for 4 dry & sunny days, so that should be enough time to finish the roof to the point where the snow/rain membrane will bond enough to protect us until the metal cladding can be attached.
As for my bracelet, since I wasn't insured, the only way I'll recoup the money is next year at tax time when I'll be able to claim the entire value & not just the money that I paid for it. I got into the business because it allowed me to buy beautiful things without filling the house to excess. It's like being on a scavenger hunt. Unfortunately it's not a get-rich-quick business. The people who I feel sorry for are the dealers who need their profits to live on.

All these things, are the kind of set-backs sent to try us. If there's enough of them, then they become character building. At no time can they be classed as devastating....or life threatening.

So with all that said, here's an issue that is devastating:
Lorrie is a member of one of the communities that I belong to, who is facing the possible death of a member of her 4-legged family. For many of us whose 2-legged children have left house or who have never had any, we adopt 4-legged ones to give our love to. Lorrie is facing a large medical bill to pay for the cancer treatment of one of her cats. As a result she's trying to raise the money by selling her mini dolls:

These dolls and many others are from her private collection. If you're at all in need of a doll to complete your dollhouse or if you'd like bare parts to try your hand at doll making, please take a look at what she has for sale.
Lorrie, I hope you know that our thoughts are with you. If there's anything I've learned it's this, although we miniaturists are spread throughout the world, we're a very close knit community! Chin up and mini hugs to you!

Welcome, Bienvenue, Wilkommen

Say hi to some new followers:
Mary from the States who is new to crafting minis Sunny Sunflowers Miniatures

Tara, a jeweler from Hawaii The Dollhouse at Pooh corner. That Pooh is one lucky bear!

Sabiha, for whom I can't find any info but who is more than welcome nevertheless.

JFolk, for whom I can't much information either, other than her excellent blog A Little Roomer by Jaime

.....and then there is the Egyptian Knight. He(?) has 4 blogs; most of them in egyptian. It seems one is about Viagara; another about cell phones; while the third one shows a bloody hand holding a knife.
At that point I stopped looking.

Well, the full moon has done it again!!!

1. We've been without Internet on & off for the past week & this is the earliest that I have been able to post. Ah, the joys of living in the country!!

2. We are 45% into a new roof.......that 45% being without shingles of course! The next day we had torrential rain. And so my kitchen was awash not only with leaks but with pans evvvVvverywhere to catch the leaks.
I went up on the roof in the morning, after I noticed the first leak, to put a second tarp over the first one.
Now ever since I fell off the ladder & broke my ankle, ten years ago, I have been rather fearful of ladder climbing. I'm OK going up but not coming down.

• The new roof is 6ft higher than the old one was.
• I have never been any good with heights at the best of times!
• Tarps...being made of plastic...are slippery when wet.

I managed to nail the new tarp to the peak of the roof. And then..... I started sliding !! ....hoping all the while that I would be able to stop before I reached the roof edge.
All this time, Ken is in bed with a humongous flu bug that's making the rounds. It must have taken me at least an hour...or so it seemed...to get myself turn around into a sitting position. There's no way I was going to be able to get back on the ladder without someone holding it at the bottom.
Kitkat took pity on me & came up to join me in my plight. I think this will definitely confirm in his mind the notion that human creatures are useless beings unable to look after themselves and the fact that he is right to hunt for our food.
Took a while of yelling for Ken to wake up, hear me & come to help me down.
.......all that & I didn't accomplish anything with my extra tarp.


3. The weatherman predicts snow for most of this week!

4. We didn't get around to taking our dock out of the water last fall and so we have been keeping an eye on it. Orr Lake being a small lake does not.....normally....get the storms that occur habitually in Georgian Bay. After the torrential rains stopped, the wind gusts took over. Whatever they didn't finish on the roof made it sound as if we'd be in Kansas instead of in the safety of Auntie Karin's kitchen at any moment (see "Wizard of Oz" for explanations). After enduring this for most of the night, the next day emerged sunny if a little crisp. Since the house being 400ft from shore & the land sloped, seeing the dock at the best of times is tricky.
To make a long story short, Ken had to get on his chest waders & retrieve part of the dock, 6 cottages away where it had floated to.
It's no wonder the man is sick so often.

5. Two days ago, I was one of three antiques dealers whose showcases were broken into. I lost a $1500 diamond tennis bracelet. One showcase was missing an entire tray of gold rings. A third had an $800 emerald ring missing.
The thieves were obviously professionals. They tore the rubber seal from the side of my showcase; pried up the lock and made off with my bracelet. The mall was full of customers that day and there were 7 staff members working. And to add insult to injury, they took my lock as well as the bracelet! The police couldn't get any prints from the rubber and only smudges from the glass.
........maybe the Middle East isn't that far wrong in loping off a thief's hand!

6. I think I've gotten Ken's flu!

However on a bright note, I should be posting the photos of my thatched roof in a few days. .....now if only I could say the same about our real roof.