Fall Already???

Hi Guys! Is it really fall already? It feels like I put my head down to get packages out to my volunteers, and when I looked up, October was well under way! Let me assure you that even though I haven't posted in a few weeks, I've been BUSY! I'll try to catch you up on all the happenings...

In my last post I shared how the packages of  vintage 3D printed kitchen minis were on their way to the volunteer testers. Since then, I have gotten several reviews and photos back and am so excited with the feedback! Here are just a few comments...

"How I wish you could've been here when I opened your package a few minutes ago! I literally gasped and squealed at the array of beautiful items that were enclosed, and marveled at the tiny honey pot and sweet sifter. Thank you for your unexpected "thank you" gifts! They're SO precious!!! I love EVERYTHING that you've sent, and am blown away by the quality of each piece. I would venture to say that they're the best 3D printed items that I've seen so far. Also love that you've left them attached to their little bars/stringers to make painting easier."
Terri K.

"I received the little precious things. I am in love with everything. The colander is just too too good! I am going to finish up a purse I'm working on and then will be devoted to minis. Thanks for this opportunity. One thing I can say now: I purchase quite a few 3-D items to finish. The quality of these is much better. Of course, I will be swearing a lot with the toaster!!!"
Pat S.

"The package arrived today and I will get started on this after my NAME Gazette meeting today at noon. Thank you so much for the presents you sent. They are fantastic and hard to believe they are plastic/resin. After just going through what I got, I would definitely like to have you as a supplier when I finally get my miniature food business kicked off. You have items my other supplier doesn’t (just like she has things you don’t, well, mainly because I had a few custom requests that she filled)."
Marilyn H.

"I was so thrilled when my package of your minis arrived in the mail today! I can't thank you enough! When you see them in the images on your blog, they're fantastic, but when you see them in person, they're just marvelous and so captivating!!!!! I love that tiny honeypot you included, it's just wonderful and oh so cute! And that little sifter! They're amazing! I can't wait to review them, and thank you for making my day!"
Julia T.

I'll share photos I received from the volunteer testers in a future post - it's amazing the range of products that were used and the finishes they've come up with! So inspiring!!! There were some really good suggestions on improvements, too, so after a couple adjustments, I started printing again - this time, for photo shoots. I needed three sets of everything: one for the Willowcrest kitchen to be painted in it's color scheme, one with a more crowd pleasing palette to use for product display photos, and one set right off the printer, lightly sanded but left unpainted so folks will know exactly what they will receive. Honestly, at this point I am still not certain if I will open a shop. There is so much to learn and I need to be sure I can handle the business part. Online retail has gotten very complicated if your gross sales are over $600 per year with the new tax laws. For now, I'm going to "act" like a shop is happening, do all I need to do and learn all I need to know, and then decide.

I've used a two-tone porcelain enamel look on lots of the pieces.

In the garage for spray varnish.

The printed pieces have been painted and sealed, and I am preparing myself for a major photo shoot. To accomplish this, I needed a photo studio. Some of my longtime readers might remember when I made up a Houseworks Duplex Roombox for this purpose way back in 2017. It's finished with a lot of texture but completely neutral in color so that the items being photographed will not have any competition for their attention. I have used it a couple times - once as the backdrop in the post So Thankful, after receiving many gorgeous mini paintings from Samantha Burns and once as the backdrop when I experimented with and then sold a bunch of vanities. That post was called In Sink. Then the structure got shelved and mostly forgotten until now...

I decided that my original idea for it was a good one, and if I planned things just right, I could create several props to use for all kinds of photo shoots in the future. For these vintage kitchen minis, I needed a pretty neutral kitchen to display them in. So, in between all the other things on my plate, I got busy making one. I used Design Space, the Maker and chipboard to custom fit the space in the left side of the shop.

I went with a modern farmhouse style this time because it fit with the vibe of the roombox shop and would provide a pretty neutral backdrop for the 3D printed items. All the pieces will be removable so that I can use the space for other room items besides a kitchen, and have even created many shop type display pieces to use in the future.

I've got to cut the sink opening, add a backsplash to the countertops and then finish them. I think I am leaning toward faux white marble. For the walls, I'm going with modular wooden open shelving - great for displaying all the kitchenware. The banquet will need cushions for the booty and loose pillows for the back. My To-Do list would probably freak out even the most type "A" OCD person, but my strategy is to do all I can, enjoy it as much as possible, and stop caring what the calendar says. It works to keep me from freaking out an acceptable amount of the time. 😁

In family news... We got to stay for a long weekend at Tasha and Brent's farm. They had just gotten eight baby chicks who stayed in the house in their hatcher pen. That allowed lots of fascinating watching time and plenty of holding them so they get used to people. They were so funny and beautiful! Truly just like little children! 

I also got to love on Vincent and Carl, the goats. They really like me - probably because I taught them what pumpkins are and fed it to them! 

And I got to feed freeze dried worms to the three older hens and the gender confused rooster, Angelica.

It was such an amazing thing to see my little girl and her perfect partner beginning to live their dream!

Thanks for coming by, everyone! I hope in spite of what the calendar says, you're crossing things off your To-Do lists faster than you are adding them!

Back next week with progress...

xo xo,

Jodi

Answering The Call

Hello my friends! I don't know if you've missed me, but I sure missed all of you! It feels like I have been gone on a long, epic journey! And yet, it's only been two weeks! When we last spoke, I was enlisting help for volunteers to play with my new 3D printed minis. I am so grateful to say that I was overwhelmed by the support and by the offers of help I received! Originally, I had thought to send packages to five or six folks. But between the blog, the email blog subscription list, Facebook and Instagram, I had over forty volunteers! I know I say this all the time, but mini people are The Best People!!! I spoke with Russ about his comfort level with regard to the expense of shipping packages, and was again blown away by his encouragement. "Whatever you need" was what he told me. 💗 So I got to pick 14 names, and after the long holiday weekend, got busy contacting everyone for their preference of items. Then, I started printing.

Each of the volunteers got to pick if they were more interested in the Baking, items, the Cookware items, or the General Kitchen items. I wanted to make sure these good Samaritans would end up with things they actually needed or wanted! Then, in addition to those items, I sent items from the other categories. A typical box included the items above.

I had to organize a spreadsheet with all the volunteer's information, preferences etc., I also had to create a questionnaire for them to fill out once they'd received their minis. I had to write instructions for the things that need assembling after painting. I had to actually 3D print the items, each category taking an average of 8 hours. And once the items came off the printer, the sanding began. It was an odyssey of 16 hour days for over a week! Woodson and Rusty are terribly board since walks and play time were among the sacrifices, and poor Russ had to eat tuna salad all weekend! But by Jove, I got 'er done!

And in between batches, while waiting for the next batch to finish printing, I kept at designing new kitchen minis. I received so many excellent ideas from all of you, I just had to try making them! I started with a honey pot and dipper.

It turned out so adorably that I had to try painting it. Or THEM. To the pots, I painted a base coat of Empire Gold. To the honey dippers, I applied a coat of Raw Sienna. 

With paint before washes were applied.

Next, I applied a brown wash to all the pieces, then finished the pots with a glaze coat and the dippers with a matte coat.

And then I decided that every volunteer just had to have one! 

In addition to the finished flour sifters...

I also had small windows of time that I used to create even more of your wonderful suggestions! On the left is a garlic keeper, next to it a salt pig, (the honey pot you've already seen) and a pear shaped cookie jar. I can't wait to paint these up!

I have also been working on a colander, as many of you suggested, but getting the holes just right is an ongoing challenge. It'll get there - I just need to keep working until I uncover the secret..

Once all the batches of samples were printed and sanded, I could package them up and get them into shipping boxes. This, too, required research into the best ways to get minis safely through the mail. I still have so much to learn!

But thanks to all of you in this incredibly supportive community, I am on the way to learning how to get my ideas into your hands! The first batch, to the amazing volunteers, is on their way!

Next on the agenda is to scrub the house, get some food into the cabinets and then go visit Tasha on her farm. She and Brent are the proud parents of chickens and goats, and I get to meet them next weekend!

Thanks again for all your support and encouragement! There is nothing like minis and mini friends to fill the soul! 💗

xo xo,

Jodi

Help! Calling All Mini Nuts Who Like Free Stuff!

Hello Friends! In terms of progress IN the Willowcrest kitchen this week, you may be a bit let down. There is no wallpaper, there is no floor or ceiling installed, and I never did get around to painting the door and window trim. So sorry! But rest assured that the work FOR the kitchen has been all consuming! I decided to see if I could make some vintage kitchen things in Tinkercad and it quickly got out of hand! Once I started, I just kept coming up with more and more fun ideas. And I thought, if I was taking all this time to make stuff for me, why not make more to share!

Each gadget and utensil, plate, cup and appliance, had to be designed, printed, adjusted, reprinted, tested and incrementally perfected. This process, I am sure you know, takes a good, long time. I had hoped to have some things painted and finished, but I just could not stop adding new things each time an idea sprang itself on me!!! So far, I have the following things broken down by category:

Baking

• Stand Mixer (with attachment, bowl, lifting motor, cord and plug)
• Mixing Bowls, set of 3 graduated
• Flour Sifter (working)
• Rolling Pin (working)
• Cake Pedestal
• Bundt Cake Pan (made to fit perfectly on cake plate)
• Pie Pan
• Bread Pan
• Cookie Sheet
• Measuring Cups for liquids, set of 2
• Measuring Cups for dry ingredients, set of 4
• Measuring Spoons, set of 5

Cooking

• Covered Casseroles, set of 3 with lids
• Cast Iron pans, set of 2 sizes
• Dutch Oven with lid
• Sauce Pan with lid

General Kitchen

• Bread Box with lid
• Canisters, set of 3 (two designs all with opening lids)
• Toaster (with cord and plug)
• Coffee Pot hollow with lid
• Tea Pot hollow with lid
• Cream and Sugar containers hollow with lid
• Salt & Pepper Shakers
• Napkin Holder
• Butter Dish (with cube of butter)
• Spice Rack with pull out drawers and spice jars
• Dinnerware for 4 including dinner plate, lunch plate, dessert plate, bowl and mug
• Large and tabletop Vases

It is so much fun to design unique things for my dollhouses, but it's even more fun to share them with other enthusiasts! Recently, I had an order for many of the items I made for the Beachside Bungalow. When my customer received them, she sent me the nicest email to let me know she was thrilled with everything! She loved my minis!!! That feeling is only just slightly better than sharing all my adventures with all of you! So, could I share? And still have time for my own pursuits? In a limited way, maybe... I think so...

But, if you don't mind my imposing, I need a little help! I would so much appreciate your feedback! What am I missing? What do you like and what do you think could be better? And, if there is any interest, I would love to ask a few of you to review the new vintage kitchen items for me. I'll send you the sets to finish as you see fit, to play with and to keep, and in exchange you tell me how they stack up to traditional mini accessories. Any takers? If you're interested, and really willing to give me honest feedback within a fairly quick timeframe, just leave a comment below or email me: jodihippler@gmail.com

Thanks so much for your comments and for your support and encouragement throughout all my crazy ideas and adventures! I truly owe all my courage to all of you!

xo xo,

Jodi