Back At It... Finally!

This blog is (mostly) about positive things such as miniatures. I bet that's why you are all here - making the rounds to see what other creative minds are doing in the mini realm. We all get each other, and I love that! Mini's are what I do to distract me from some of the tough stuff in life, and I am sooooooo grateful to have them. Usually, no matter what's going on in my real world, my minis are a way for me to escape and enjoy. But not always. I've had a tough couple weeks, so much so that even mini-ing didn't appeal to me. I'm sure you've all been there, and here's a hug for the next time you need it!

Thank goodness, like most tough times, it's now in the rear view, and I can focus a little time to the HBS Creatin' Contest build! When I last left off I had gotten the bunk beds and single bed made, and just needed to dress them. I found some awesome little quilts on eBay by tonis-treasures when I was buying things planning for this project last year.

I made mattresses out of foam core and covered the visible "sheets" with fabric.

Attached the quilts to the foam core...

Glued and clamped them to the bed frames...

And voila!

A perfect fit for the space! I think the piggies are going to squeal!

Next, I needed a table. I could not believe that in all of the kits I've been collecting for the last four years that I did not have a dining room table kit! I had to get creative! The hubs had saved me some nice thin-ish slabs of oak. He also happens to have hole saw bits in several sizes. Gotta love a man with tools! Then I found the cork from a magnum bottle of champagne (left the wine tasting with tons of corks, too - you know... Just in case...) with the perfect curvy character. I also had some circle shaped Woodsies. I was in business!

Glued...

Painted, stained and hole covered with a vase (cheap glass vial painted red inside). I did have some chair kits! Phew! That would have taken some major brain power to make three chairs from scratch, although I have done it before - from chop sticks, even!

But it was still missing something... The flowers! One rose (Bonnie Lavish kits) for each little piggy! I dusted the edges with artists chalk to give them some blush.

I believe that takes care of all of the major furnishings for the build!

Next up, I needed to remove the Geico piggies from their bases. When I bought them, I thought I could just run them through the scroll saw.

Ummmm, No. Too wide and too tall. I attempted to use a Dremel cut off wheel attachment. Ummmm, No. They broke. A lot of them. What the heck was this stuff made of?!? Apparently, some kind of epoxy. So, I swallowed my "I can do it all by myself" pride and asked the tool expert - the hubs. He (patronizingly) said "no problem sweetie". But it was a problem! I kind of felt better that he had trouble, too! ;O) He Dremeled, he hacksawed, he coping sawed and I helped him grip. Finally! A giant mess (it looks like a DEA smuggling photo) to clean, but free piggies!!! And an awesome man willing to help!

And now, the fun part! Getting to dress and personalize each of them! Very exciting! More kits are involved! They're going to be so stinkin' cute!

Except, I got word that my next crazy busy work schedule will most likely start a week early. So that means like next week. No mini life well into August. :o( I'm sad, but that's life! Gotta pay the bills and buy more kits!

Tonight, I get to catch up on all of my favorite blogs! Have a very happy week!