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

Seeking Southwest...

My secret mini project is completed and off in the mail, but I'm still not allowed to talk about it yet. So in the meantime, let's dream a little, shall we?

Many of you who have followed my blog for a couple years know that in 2017, my parents, who were both raised in Montana, and then raised their family in the Pacific Northwest, bought a retirement home in Arizona. As a family, we knew nothing of the desert. But through mom and dad's experiences, and on our visits, we've been learning a lot about what seems like another world entirely! Plants, wildlife, climate... It's all so fascinating!

On our Monday and Friday phone calls, mom describes the animals she sees running through the yard as she sits on her covered back patio. She's traded squirrels for bunnies and crows for a family of quail that makes it their home in the spring every year. She loves watching them grow up, and she's also learned to love the many lizards that flee out of holes as she's watering. She doesn't scream at all anymore! The weird flying bugs and the scorpions (rare because the first service she hired was the pest control)? Not so much! She's got a nice collection of potted cactus going, and I get to see when they're flowering via FaceTime. They've got palm trees and date trees and have only killed two orange trees (so far) due to rookie ignorance! Dad got himself a fishing boat and is enjoying his adventures discovering all the honey spots in the rivers that lead into the lake. I just love hearing about it all, and wish I could spend more time there with them. Especially when it's 75 degrees this time of year with sunny skies!

Looking at homes in the southwest, their construction methods and the logic behind them, has really piqued my interest in that style of architecture. I've been craving a mini project where I could incorporate things like stucco, clay floor tile, vigas (wooden beams used in the traditional adobe architecture of the American Southwest), flat roofs, terra cotta "s" roofing tiles, heavy wooden doors with iron hardware, adobe fireplaces - you get the idea! But in researching the styles, I was shocked to learn that there are many! Spanish Mission, Hacienda, Pueblo, Santa Fe, and Territorial just to hit the highlights! Holy buckets what a gold mine! I love elements from all of them, so how to decide upon one? Lucky for me, this is miniatures! I am free to create whatever I can dream! I don't have to pick just one! I can combine all of my favorite elements and build a house which pays homage to them all!

Hacienda style

Spanish Mission

Pueblo Style

Traditional Santa Fe

Territorial

Now you won't be surprised to learn that there just aren't a whole lot of miniature dollhouse kits out there to work from in this genre. There are a few kits on the market, featuring various SW styles, but all of them are over $200.00!

The Adobe Room & Patio Kit by miniatures.com $229.99

The Adobe Dollhouse from Manhatton Dollhouse $499.00

Ellsworth Dollhouse Kit from Earth & Tree $263.00

Can't afford a kit? It's not a problem - it's an opportunity! Because I am on a budget, and because I enjoy the challenge of making something from something else, I took a look at the kits I have on hand. I was pretty surprised when I looked at my Duracraft Linfield and began to see multiple ways I could bash it into the southwest mini home of my dreams!

I know what you're thinking... "How can a frilly, Victorian dollhouse kit even be a contender for a southwest style house?". Well, let me show you a couple things to convince you!

I know it's hard to imagine now, and I may be creating a nightmare for myself, but challenges are often the best fun! Once I crack open the kit I'll have a better idea of the possibilities. Or the impossibilities! But I do have to try, and I'm awfully excited at the prospect! Working in this genre may just help keep the winter blues (and grays!) away, too!

I hope that you'll join me on this exciting exploration, whenever I get to start on it. I am eager to hear your ideas and I hope you'll help fill in the multiple gaps to my desert home knowledge! This is going to be so much fun with your help!

But first... I really need to stop dreaming up new miniature projects and get my real life house in order!

For those of you in the US - I hope your Thanksgiving celebrations are chock full of things to be grateful for! For those of you elsewhere, my wish is the same. :O)

 Back to work! See you soon!

xo xo,
Jodi

Where Has November Gone?!?

If you like lists, here are a few things that are making November fly by for me:

• Family Room/Kitchen refresh/remodel (still not finished!).
• Secret Miniature Project With A Deadline That I'm Not Allowed To Share Just Yet.
• Football (watched more games than I can justify or want to admit).
• Normal work/life obligations.

And yet it feels as if I don't have a lot to show! Let's start with minis...

I can't reveal much about my secret mini project, but I can show a couple partially revealing photos. I promise, soon I can spill the beans!

Oh - And I made a little Snake Plant Tutorial as I made up these plants.

Family Room/Kitchen refresh/remodel (still not finished!). In spite of the kitchen painting being done, it's still chaos in there! You can see though that we did go with the sage paint and it looks nice. Thank You all so much for your help in deciding!

The family room is getting used regularly, even though it still isn't quite finished, either. I need to paint and recover that chair and it's twin. I bought them in an auction in 2004. They've seen three homes and a lot of butts!

Eating At the the counter while watching football has been great!

I started refinishing the hutch that my grandma left me when she passed. By refinishing I mean spraying with chalk paint. I have 1-1/2 cans left to go, then the aging and finish. I can't decide on decoupaging the sides or not, so I am allowing myself time to ponder while we work on higher priorities. It's hard to see the true color in our Northwest gloom, but it's Rustoleum Serenity Blue. Can photo below. I hope to eventually fill the upper glass portion with mini scenes or an apartment like layout inside.

Russ started on the wood floor installation over the weekend. Unfortunately, the air nailer freaked the dogs out so badly we had to stop. Georgia has a seizure disorder already and startling noises are a trigger. Woodson is a rescue from a pretty terrible puppy mill and still has PTSD. Rusty is just the sweetest and most timid soul on the planet. Ande, our grown up son (bless his heart), is going to come take them all to the dog park this weekend so we can finish without traumatizing them! But the good news is that the new super discounted floors are a pretty close match to the original floors!

My sweet little boy, Woodson. Petting him is like feeling crushed velvet! 💗

So, still lots to do as November ticks by! Luckily, my amazing daughter Natasha, who is a fantastic cook, is hosting Thanksgiving dinner at her place this year! There will be 16 of us, but she has that kind of excitement about hosting the holidays that we all did when we were young! Bless her heart, too!

Back soon,
xo xo,
Jodi