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Tuesday, July 19, 2016

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!

16 comments:

  1. Omg those pigs are adorable! I'm excited to see how you dress them. One will need a bacon/pork pun on their shirt!

    The furniture looks amazing. I love the table idea.

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    1. Thanks Kat! LOL! I love that idea! Something like "eat wolf"!

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  2. Hello Jodi,
    I'm glad the tough times have passed. Miniatures are such a great escape and the people behind the blogs are create such a great community. I LOVE the beds. The quilts are gorgeous and I love the placement of them (the beds). The table was a great idea and really works well in the space. I am glad the little pigs came off their bases.
    Big hug
    Giac

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    1. Thanks so much, Giac! I am glad that you are here with me through the process! I have a few more days to sneak some time in on getting the piggies dressed, and that is so fulfilling! They have been only an idea for so long!

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  3. Beds and table, quilts and flowers all add wonderful touches of a home...especially a home shared by three little pigs. You are making a story come alive and that is always exciting to see! Glad you freed the little pigs from their bases...what was the final solution to that problem? Hope you find some relaxing time in the busy week ahead...it's so important to find e little time for oneself despite a crazy work schedule...Cheers, Alayne

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    1. Thanks so much Alayne! I am so glad that you are here to enjoy it with me! The final trick was to take the small Dremel shaping bit and work a mote of sorts around the foot. We learned by doing this slowly that there was structural wire in them. Once the resin was cleared around the wire, he took a hack saw, then a jewelers saw to the wire. It was only a matter of patience, like all things! :O)

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  4. Wow! I love your table. I'm especially amazed that the base doesn't even look like a cork after it's painted. And everything fits together so well, the chairs and table coordinate with the bunkbeds and the sink fits perfectly with all of them. So cheerful!

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    1. Thanks Sheila! I giggle so hard when I look at those tiny chairs compared to the generous backsides of the piggies, but that's the point, right?!? Silly can be so perfect!

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  5. What a comfy home for your 3 little pigs! I can't wait to see them dressed. And I definitely agree with you about minis being a great distraction. Then it's especially tough when you need distracting from tough times but don't have enough time to do minis! Anyway glad it is the rear view mirror now!

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    1. Thanks so much, Penelope! For the encouragement on all fronts! Being crazy for miniatures helps to cope with the cray-cray of Real Life!

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  6. Everything is looking wonderful. We are all waiting with bated breath for you to show us the next step, but we will wait for you to deal with work and real life. But I have a question, aren't the pigs upset with that huffy, puffy blowhard in the house? As one of their neighbours put it, "my what big teeth you have." I'm enjoying your work very much.

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    1. Thank you, Shelley! I am so glad that you're along for the journey, too! You have a very observant eye! And yes - those little pigs have suffered so much at the hands of a truly evil and hungry Big Bad Wolf. Normally they'd get one whiff and tremble with fear. But our scene will be catching them at the end of a long ordeal. These three piggies are smart, and they are fighters. They have gotten justice, and therefore, will be enjoying the Happily Ever After... You'll see!

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    2. Oh good, I'm all for happily ever after. Well at least the blowhard is in the right place, there is nothing that says comfy country home quite like a stuffed trophy over the mantle. It's going to be spectacular.

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  7. Oh my gosh, it's been way too long since I checked in! Cute, cute, cute...I need read the older posts to get caught up.

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    1. Thanks for coming by, Keli! It has been fun to work in a different mini genre! I'm enjoying the child-like whimsy!

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