Cornucopia

 Hi Guys!

This week has been abundant with various and sundry activities, not any of them concluded, but all of them fun! So this post is going to be an amalgamation of the week and I hope you enjoy the variety!

First off I'll share that I made a little start on the porches for Vera and Virgil's cottages. I dug through my supply drawers and auditioned options, and at least figured out that each cottage porch will have a totally different aesthetic. For Vera, I am going with something very feminine and almost Victorian in detail...

For Virgil, something a little more country/rustic. I had some fencing assemblies left over from a Creatin' Contest kit, and what a great opportunity to use them!

I am slowly making progress, but haven't had a good chunk of time yet this week to dedicate.

Over the long Thanksgiving weekend, we opted for safety above getting the family together. Since it was just Russ and I here at home, we took on a couple fun new activities together. One was assembling the LEGO Mandalorian Razor Crest set. We hadn't built LEGOs since our kids were growing up, and had never done one together. It turned out to be a lot of fun and we are just starting bag 3 out of 6. There are over 1000 pieces, so it will take us a while longer. It's not technically minis, but if I can convince Russ that working on small things together can be fun, he may just start to imagine us creating a cool, MANLY mini project together in the future. ;o)

We also got a new game for the Nintendo Switch. It's called Animal Crossing New Horizons. It's a lot of fun, filled with wit, humor and some fun facts about the flora and fauna that you collect in the game. If you don't want to become addicted or have another adorable activity take over your free time, I recommend avoiding it, lol!

Back in the spring, I mentioned that I was participating in another Instagram group swap. We would each be given only 1 person, anonymously, and would be given questionnaires filled out by them in order to make gifts perfectly tailored to our recipients current project. Based on my recipient's requests, I made a bathroom vanity and lots of accessories. Due to all of the Covid craziness, the deadline to mail the packages was pushed to October 31st. 

When I received my package and saw that it was from Australia, I squealed a little because I knew it was from Sam (BluePrint Minis). If you know her, you know she paints incredible mini paintings. You can see a past swap gift I received from Sam in a post titled So Thankful.

This time, I was working on Pound Cake, the bakery, so I asked for bakery related things. Sam not only painted a cupcake series and framed them in the coordinating colors of the bakery, she spoiled me rotten with other handmade and purchased treasures, too! Thanks Sam! I am so lucky to have been assigned to you! I love every single thing!

Sam is a busy lady so mostly posts on Instagram now. You can find and follow her @blueprintminis.

And I think, finally this week, I should tell you about a new project in the works. You know me... I never reach the end of one project before I become obsessed with a new idea. This time, it's for someone else, someone very special to me. That's the best motivation for me to finish a project! And this person, in spite of my best efforts, has not shown much interest in minis. Until now. And believe me, I have seized upon this. For now, I'll share the structure...

And one of the amazing items that will become a part of the project. Maybe it will give you a clue...

The rest will come soon enough. After I finish (I am determined) Vera and Virgil's cottages. Porches, roofing and wiring to go!

In spite of the state of the world these days, I hope life is busy but good for each of you, too. Happiness can sometimes be achieved simply in the way we choose to frame the events surrounding us. I'm trying hard to make my frames as positive as possible, and to help others do the same.

xo xo,

Jodi

Hodgepodge

A confused mixture is exactly right in describing what I've been up to this past week or so. And it seems like I haven't accomplished or brought to conclusion any of the things I've started on. It's been entertaining at any rate, and worthwhile because I learned some new things. I'll hit the highlights...

I made some more bottles from the mold but am still waiting for the tops to arrive from the Netherlands. Once those arrive I can get the bottles finished up and start the drawing for the vanity set. These colors came out a little better.

It took two nervous days to work up my courage to complete the set up process and print the first test file on the 3D printer. I was astonished at how well it went, and in fact, that encouraged me to grab some of the stl files of things I'd previously made for Shapeways and give them a try. All it required was to open the files into the QIDI slicer program and then save them as gcode files onto a thumb drive for the printer. Then, just pop the thumb drive into the printer, make a few selections from the touch screen and you're off!

QIDI test file. I have no idea what it is, either. Is it something
really useful and I just haven't figured it out yet?

The first of my own prints was the modern wall mounted toilet. Red was the random spool color that came with the printer, though I ordered white to use after I get some practice in. It came out surprisingly well.

Then I threw a little more challenging print at it by making a phone holder in Tinkercad and testing that out. The first try got about 7% completed and then the printer started making a funny noise. Russ and I realized that the nozzle had clogged and the noise was the printer's attempt at trying to squeeze more filament out of the nozzle. Luckily, the printer comes with videos on a thumb drive that shows how to unclog the nozzle. It's a pretty common thing and a good learning experience. I'm so glad Russ was there to help me stay calm and confident that we could do it. Soon we were back underway! I am now the proud owner of a handy phone holder with my name on it!

After that I threw a few different challenges at it: side by side items, teeny tiny items and things with letters. In most cases it performed beautifully without having to change any settings. There are a couple things I can do to improve the designs for my printer, but that will all come in good time. For now, just learning the slicer program and all of it's functions and settings is plenty!

It is mesmerizing to watch as the printer adds the layers and then fills in the voids. It takes a really long time, though (9-1/2 hours for the phone holder), so you have to occupy yourself with other things. I put a few coats of paint on the tall planters. I like that they end up looking like concrete or pottery.

Red PLA

Painted With Thunder Gray

I also had these cake kits from Stewart Dollhouse Creations to look forward to...

I dove in to the first kit and quickly realized that it was going to be an all consuming activity. Like when I started on the Storybook Cottage garden, figuring it would take two weeks. It took nine!!! I did complete four cakes from one kit over a few days, so, yippee! It is apparent that I will need A LOT more practice!!!

I looked at all of the bakery shelving that will need filling for Pound Cake's displays, estimated how many more I would need, ordered some more Original Sculpey and Soft Fimo, and will now wait until it arrives before I dive back in to the project. Making mini baked goods tends to monopolize your work table and it looks like June will arrive before the supplies do. Craft stuff is getting harder to source and more expensive by the week!

It's probably a good thing I'm stalled, though, because Father's Day is coming up fast. I have an idea and a direction for dad, but need to get started. Here;s a hint...

Oh, and one other distraction and major rabbit hole to report for the week. I bet most of you are aware that HBS/miniatures.com re-released a couple popular Creatin' Contest kits. For those that did not know, there was a vote held on Facebook between four popular kits. The winners were Lisa's Country Cottage and MiniTown Loft. I bought two Lisa's kits and, call me MAD, got them out to start planning...

More hodgepodge to come. Y'all come back soon, ya hear?

xo xo,

Jodi

Pound Cake Exterior: A Happy Ending...

As this week draws to an end so too does the exterior of Pound Cake! I'll pick up where we left off last week and take you through the process...

You'll remember that my intricate stencil idea didn't work out so well so plan B was to cut various "fondant" shapes with the Cricut. I used Kraft cardstock and then laminated two layers together to increase the thickness. I also made scalloped trim in the same way to add a little extra detail where the black transitioned into the white "cake" layer.

Here is the first side applied in a random pattern. The cardstock is very white and the paint is a warmer white so the detail is easy to pick up. Each section was painted in the warmer white later to leave a raised textured effect like fondant.

Plain white white cardstock.

Painted with warm white.

On the front area I left room so as not to interfere with the porch roof.

Once the "fondant" was done I could get the wiring sorted. I was able to lead all of the wiring for the lights (thus far) to one point of exit, creating a hub for the power strip. Any future additional lights will have to be carefully camouflaged and lead here. Luckily, I still have lots of space and a transformer large enough to handle many more bulbs!

This was an exciting moment! I finally got to see all of the lights lit together on the transformer instead of the 9 volt battery! I am super happy with the amount of light given off by these 16 fixtures and bulbs!

Now it was time to address the roof. Remember how I had modified the fit so that I could add and remove the roof as needed while I installed the second floor walls? Well, that left me with some unsightly gaps that I had to address. It seemed that the easiest and cleanest method was to add more of the scalloped cardstock.

Gap

Scalloped cardstock cut to fit and painted.

Gaps gone and you barely notice the scallop edge.
But if you do, it looks intentional.

Switching to the porch entry floor... I painted coffee stirrer sticks and laid them in alternating black and white to create stripes.

And then I painted the roof's metallic finish on in several coats. It is
Jacquard Lumiere Metallic Acrylic Paint in Pewter. It looks like a lead roof so it's really neat! Also, I left this photo uncropped so that you could get a look at my background hoard. I am embarrassed to say that I have not done a deep reorganization of my bins and shelves since I finished the New Orleans last summer!!! I may take a short break before I start on the interior of the bakery just to hit the reset button.

Next in line was the front porch. I continued with the black storefront theme and added a couple small ceiling lights. The wire will have to be run to the back in some inconspicuous manner.

For the storefront sign I once again harnessed the power of the Cricut. Using the same font as the window vinyl, I cut and laminated three layers of kraft cardstock and installed that onto the kit's sign board.

The dormer gingerbread has been added here, too.

Gratuitous lighted shot...

Opposite angle.

There will be touch ups, and I am leaving space for more inspiration to lead to more detail, but Pound Cake's exterior has indeed reached a happy ending!

And last, I want to take a moment to truly thank each of you for being here. Each of you who come by to share a little of this amazing and heart filling passion. And to those who have uplifting words and leave thoughtful comments that lift my heart and encourage me to reach for new challenges. And for those of you who don't have words or time or even a free hand to type them but send good thoughts instead. Thank You All So Much! For without you, the joy for me in this passion would be hollow. I am so happy and grateful to be part of this special community of fellow mini enthusiasts who inspire and encourage one another! Each of us adds our own unique flavor and we are so blessed to have connected with one another!

xo xo,
Jodi