I think you have done a marvelous job on these and I am sure they will all sell. If not, LaFiesta is my personal favorite.You did great. I am so proud of you...

Wow Daisy I had to come look at all of them they are so fantastic and like flag said I'm sure you'll sell them all how clever you are they are awesome.

Great job Daisy! They are all so interesting to look at. My favorite is Rapunzel or maybe cat house or maybe....all of them!

Wow, how did you make so many so fast??? How long does it take you to make one of these? They are awesome, my fav is Country House! Rapunzel is pretty cool, too. Great work, Daisy!

I absolutely adore your birdhouses . . .

gcpommom, the secret is starting in the Spring! LOL Actually, the hardest part for me is collecting all the pieces. I spend Spring through Fall sitting in the rivers or with my nose to the ground picking interesting stones. (Not a bad way to spend a day, by the way. And, it's most fun when I recruit lots of friends). I find the roof tile in the foothills here mostly on road cuts, and the wood is the hardest. It's thought that there's lots of interesting wood pieces out there, but really they're fairly rare. I've tried manzanita, drift wood, mesquite, everything. In a full weekend anywhere I find maybe 20 pieces. And they may, or may not work. I also scout everywhere for interesting dishes to break througout the year.

The actual houses take about ten hours to piece and complete once I have the tess. I guess it's just love of it all that keeps me doing it, as I sure can't make any money at selling the darned things. LOL But it really helps to know you enjoy seeing them, and it keeps me busy, happy and out of trouble making them. So, there's nothing wrong with that.

Thanks again to anyone who's sent me a note about them. It's a nice reward that keeps me mosaicing and smiling. Thanks for that.

Love cottonwood, the beautiful wood & stones, great front & back!! They are all beautiful!! Good Luck at your sale. Have you ever sold at Quartzsite in the Desert in Feb.- March? If you don't know about it I can find the name of it. Crafters come from all over US & sell all kinds of stuff. Lot of natural things like tables out of logs, necklaces of polished stones,all kinds of crafting supplies. And big hot cinnamon rolls for breakfast I hear.GF & hubby go almost every yr. Some sell as early as Nov. it is where the Ironman thing is burned. Jan

Wow, those are just beautiful! I love your use of wood, stones, rocks, etc. You should have no problem selling them all. Good Luck! Thanks for sharing your talent.

Donna in Florida

Daisy I can understand what you said about "loving what you do". Many times we can't get paid enough for our art. But the enjoyment of what we like to do makes the art worht more than anyone can pay. Your bird houses are terrific. Keep up the good work

Oh Daisyme! These birdhouses are absolutely gorgeous. I love the way you use natural objects and the plates to create such a uniquely designed birdhouse. Love your style. You have some great talent!

You're all so sweet with your comments. Thank you.

Sunnyca, I have been to Quartzsite but not to sell. I couldn't make enough houses to have a booth there, I don't think. But hey, who knows which ideas spark inspiration and completion? Don't be surprise to read here one day I DID that! While in Quartzsite, I mainly collected mesquite pieces and rocks, colorful bits and bobs from vendors to put on the houses and other crafting supplies

I'm always with my nose to the ground for tess, that's for sure. But that's fun, you see a lot of things others miss. And everyone wonders what you're up to. LOL

Daisy, sorry I missed this. How fantastic are your birdhouses!! Wonderful eye candy, full of so much detail I keep looking. It's hard to pick a favorite because they are all so cool, but I love rapunzel, cats and harvest home !!!
I am sure you will have good luck selling this wonderful birdhouses.

question, do you make these from scratch or do you start with a basic frame?? they really are amazing and you did fantastic!! See. you were doing mosaics before you even knew it.. Great job

Thanks again, everyone. I love that you all love something different. Hopefully people attending the fair this weekend will feel the same way and be willing to part with some jingle.

Mermaid, I use birdhouse frames from JoAnns and Michaels and GSs and TSs, of course. Because of that, most of them are considered decorative. It's the driving around to GSs and TSs looking for plates, stones, wood and additional pieces that's costing money. I'm looking to my garage stash for most of my inspiration these days.

Tomorrow's the little Peddler's Fair! Our town is really small, so I don't know what to hope for in attendance. I'll let you know how it goes!

OH Daisyme! Those are incredible!
They are so earthy and natural..I just love them!

Well, attendence was good, I got loads of great comments, but didn't sell a single house. Last year at double the prices I would have about sold them all out. RATZ. No one was buying ANYTHING but food and a few items priced under $10.00 according to all the vendors. I finally traded a gal that was selling antiques a small birdhouse for 3 nice scened plates, part of the cost of the booth and some little tess pieces. RATZ. Let's hope things pick up in the economy soon. This is pretty scary.

Daisy, that is so incredibly sucks!! Ratz is right. I cant' believe you didn't sell a single one. very very scary. yep, we are in deep caca

your birdhouses are so lovely , at least you got some cool plates. have you thought of putting them on ebay or the crafts/art site which name has left me at the moment. Etsy, that's what i meant... Especially with the Christmas and other Holidays coming up.

Thanks, Mermaid. Yep, it's pretty sucky out there all right. Geez.

You know the first time I've ever looked at Etsy was today, so what a coincidence that you mentioned it. I'll give that some serious thought. Thanks so much for the idea.

Have any of you sold on Etsy?

They're so beautiful, DAISY: Good idea for Etsy. I've heard it's cheaper to list than Ebay. Perhaps I missed something when you first started posting, but I'm wondering why you choose not to grout. They're beautiful ungrouted, but just curious why not.

Hi, Slow! I knew you were back when I saw all the new posts when I signed on. (grin)

The grout/no grout issue...First, I was taught this no grout method when I learned. With no background, it's all I knew. The reasons now I prefer no grout (for the birdhouses) are two: First I use Tile Perfect Premixed Tile Adhesive and Grout (Sanded Antique White)to adhere my tess (when I can find it), and when applied liberally enough it kind of oozes up between the pieces and gives a kind of rough grouted look that looks good with the stones. Secondly, working with the rough stones and wood, grout cleanup would be truly difficult.

The problem has now been that the Tile Perfect product has been harder to find (I found now that it can be ordered through ACE). The Mapai Thin Set sits very flat (no oozing, is very messy and the color isn't as good for this application. (The house above shows the gaps in the tess from using Thin Set and not the adhesive and grout product. (Looks fine anyway I think, but I like the other better)

If I were going to build a house that could be used outdoors, I'd grout it for sure, but since they're decorative, I just haven't done it.

Welcome home! Glad you had a fun time with Flag! I am sooooo jealous.

I'm lovin these birdhouses. Very unique. Sorry to hear they didn't sell.
I have a couple of friends that sell on Etsy and do well.
I am considering it myself for the holidays.

Beautiful! I kept thinking, "i have to remember that name to tell her its my favorite" over and over! I guess I love them all. The wood on the eaves adds a lovely element, and I really like the mixing of the natural stones and plate shards. Wonderful. I'm shocked that you didn't sell any.
I'm making gifts, but I'm also going to shop on Etsy to support fellow crafters this year.
kathy

Texas, thanks for mentioning Etsy, as I didn't know about it before this week and now have spent hours there.

Ms. Concretenprimroses, I love your idea of supporting fellow artists on Etsy. What a great idea. Thank you too for the nice comments on the houses. I'm glad you enjoy them!

Daisy, I haven't sold on ETSY yet but planned on doing it sometime.I think you'll going to have good luck there, Ebay is just getting so expensive I've sold non craft items since Ebay started back in 97 or so.. and it's nothing like it used to be.. course you can get some great buys if you are the buyer or are selling something very collectable

I was also wondering why on grout...that question is answered..
and...that's the exact same grout/adhesive that I use..I love that stuff. I also use the antique white on most all I've made in the past, which is limited but still, I love that sandy gritty color and texture..
I have a fifty pound bag of the thinset, that I haven't even tried to open yet. it sits here, in a plastic milk crate, in my front room..lol

Becky

And I just bought 10 lbs. more. I can't lift the 50-pounders anymore, so buy it in the small bags. As my friend Jan sat and watched me on Sat. stick the huge rocks onto the grotto, she said "nothing is falling off". I really like the Mapei thinset - pretty sticky stuff.

These houses are SO INSPIRING!!!! I LOVE them!!! GREAT JOB!

Mermaid, thanks for the info. I may try ETSY, and I'm certainly encouraging others to do some Christmas shopping there to support their fellow artists.

Seaglass, I laughed at the vision of the Thinset in the milk crate in the living room. I have 4 grocery bags of wood pieces under my dining room table as I write...

Slow, yes, thinset is sticky all right. Great for adhering, but hard to get off uneven wood and rough stones I use (when I get it on my hands and then transfer it to the tops of the tess). Argh.

Calamity! Good to see you back around and thanks for the enthusiastic comments! I appreciate them so much! And you're going to PV???? This is great fun!