Secret Swap Project - Revealed!!!

In September, I was invited by Sam of Blueprint Minis to join a Christmas Swap. It was made up of folks who are regular miniatures posters to Instagram. I think we ended up with 32 participants, but rather than making up 32 of the same things, as in a normal swap, we got randomly assigned 2 fellow swappers. This way, we could focus on quality rather than quantity, and each maker would be allowed the freedom to make things they were comfortable with. To give us ideas and guidelines, we each filled out questionnaires about the scale we liked best, time period, colors, current projects etc. The ladies to whom I was assigned were going to be a challenge! Both were extremely successful miniaturists, and both favored genres that I had the least experience with: Mid Century Modern and Modern design. I had my work cut out for me but was determined to do my very best. Luckily, they both preferred 1/12th scale, so at least that part was familiar!  I just wasn't allowed to spill the beans until now.

My overall vision for the project was to give each person a little zen space. A small roombox and some accessories and furnishings that they could rearrange again and again when they needed a moment to play. The only constraint was the amount of money spent on each gift. The limit was $25 - $50. Don't tell the spouses, but spending that little on something miniature and thoughtful is the biggest challenge of all! Hence I came up with my Mid Mod and Mod roomboxes made from scraps, leftovers and already on hand supplies. Because both styles share similarities, I was able, with just a few tweaks, to make the furnishings and accessories at the same time. This saved a lot of time which was great given Russ' kitchen/family room refresh timing!

To keep the interior to a budget, I found furniture styles I liked online and then did my best to replicate them. I deconstructed them in my mind and made patterns in Inkscape, a free graphics program. It let's you save the files as svg (scalable vector graphics) so you can import them into Design Space and cut with your Cricut. The only actual money I spent specifically for these gifts was ordering lamps and shades from my Shapeways store.

For the half circle art pieces, I just manipulated shapes in Design Space. The table legs were done this way, too. I'll share the patterns and tutorials for them all in an upcoming post. But to keep this post smaller than War And Peace, we'll just stick (mostly) to what I made for now rather than how I made it.

Now for the finished projects - I'll start with Kristin, who many of you might know as Kristin Rogersdotter of Moonflower Minis on Etsy. Kristin stated in her questionnaire that she loves Mid-Century Modern and so my challenge was on!

Roombox basics: 13" H (with felt feet) x 8-3/8" W x 6-1/2" D
Not knowing what kind of space she had, I needed to keep the footprint small.

The lamp works with a regular 12 volt screw base bulb and socket.
It's powered here by a 9 volt battery. It's in a holder with a switch.
I have included the plug and left the wire long in case
she wants to utilize the lamp elsewhere.

Here are the art pieces for the room. One of Kristin's favorite artists is Bansky, so I included a couple matted but frameless prints mounted on chipboard. I didn't display them in the finished photos, but Kristin may choose to use them here or in another setting.

This is how my interpretation of the side table turned out. It was so awesome to have the Cricut cut the pieces for me! I plan to do a little editing to the legs in future models, but time constraints had me stop at "good enough".

And here is how the chair came out. I wanted to add a couple tufted buttons, but if I'd ruined it, I wouldn't have had time to remake the piece so I had to omit that plan. No time for a pillow, either! Big Thank You to Kris Compass for her finishing tips!

Rug printed on fabric.

Bonsai, plant stand, magazines.

Atrium plants.

Snake Plant.

And finished room.

Now for Karen. Many of you have heard of Tiny Doors ATL. Well that's the brainchild of Karen Anderson Singer. Karen's preferred style is modern, and her favorite colors are pink, purple and white.

Her roombox was just about exactly the same as Kristin's, except I went with a lighter cherry stain and painted brick for the walls.

Roombox basics: 13" H (with felt feet) x 8-3/8" W x 6-1/2" D

But wait! What was that at the bottom of the last photo, you ask? Why, you're right! It's a tiny door! Or more accurately, a 1/144th scale Micro door! Hey, maybe Karen will start #microdoorsatl, too!

Back to business...

Art pieces...

The Cricut basswood sheets are so lovely to work with. If you plan your cuts right, you can even take advantage of the wood's natural variances!

Thanks to Inkscape, I was able to create repeating patterns so that a fabric sample became a whole printable sheet!

Decor accessories...

Snake plant, spiky mystery plant and cloud bonsai for the atrium...

And the finished room...

Well there it is! It was really frightening taking on the real life projects knowing that I had such huge challenges and a lot to learn in order to finish the swap gifts, but all is well that ends well! I just hope Kristin and Karen love them as much as I loved making them!

Thanks for all your help and encouragement on another adventurous journey!

You guys ready for another one? I am, and it's not what you think! More on that next week!!! ;O)

xo xo,
Jodi