Oh man, so glad that the weekend is here…the last couple of days at work was pretty intense. Since my promotion three months ago, I’m starting to realize that it’s more managerial than what the position was initially described. And after a debacle that occurred this week involving someone under my watch, I was pretty convinced that I was going to get fired. But to my surprise….guess I didn’t expect how many folks — many from the upper levels of management — to come to bat for me. And being told that if anything….it can take up to 24 months to really learn how to be a good manager.
Have to admit, that last statement alone made my heart sink. But at the same time…it was nice to know there were some folks that cared. That’s why I’m so relieved the weekend is here. I can think…just relax….and of course, go back to my hobby to cheer me up a bit. 🙂
Luckily, I was happy to start the latter by checking out the Undersized Urbanite (UU) challenge — and seeing this year’s winners.
I actually only heard about this through Miss Brae O’s otterine blog — especially since my uber-talented miniature idol (yes, Brae you are one of many that I look up to when it comes to our hobby. So no blushing here!) was one of the judges in this year’s competition. So whenever I could, I would sneak a look at what everyone submitted in photos for this year. The contest is divided between the experienced and newbie division (which I LOVE), and man, both groups have submitted fantastic work! Can only imagine how difficult it was for the judges to decide.
Happily, UU posted the winners this week, but I wanted to wait until this morning. Just so I can have my cup of tea, don my summer pajamas, and settle comfortably on my couch. 🙂
For the experienced division, runner up was Lyssa at Can’t Have it Big? Make it Mini! (her blog title always make me laugh). I absolutely LOVE how she did the kitchen and the tween’s room – it’s something I imagine my 16 year old niece would have wanted to have done to her room. Plus, I’m a sucker for subway tiles (especially when used as a kitchen backsplash).
Photo from the Undersized Urbanite site. (http://www.undersizedurbanite.com)
…While the winner was achieved by Cyd of Mini Mod Pod for the amazing A-Frame house. Cyd, your groovy 70s pad is not just groovy….but simply stunning! Hope you don’t mind me referencing this once I get to my A-Frame kit and possibly when I begin working on the ARC II. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I was crushing a bit when I saw your treatment of the first floor’s hardwood floors. Here’s to hoping Cyd will post a tutorial of a few things that were done to this amazing pad…though am really curious what will be the next project!
Photo from the Undersized Urbanite site. (http://www.undersizedurbanite.com)
For the newbie division — this lovely 1/2″ scale studio (yes! It’s half scale!) by Elizabeth of Wishcraft Studio was the runner up. I started reading her blog when I saw her submission at UU, and couldn’t believe she did this in half scale. Am starting to work on this scale with the Lighthouse (which I’m TERRIFIED of messing up – the small pieces are kinda freaking me out a bit), and am amazed at the details Elizabeth applied to her studio. Actually, the fact that Elizabeth’s mom (who’s an artist) made the wallpaper was enough to make me swoon. Am really, really hoping she will put up tutorials — I seriously will need all the help I can get as I get deeper into working on the Lighthouse….
Photo from the Undersized Urbanite site. (http://www.undersizedurbanite.com)
As for the winner…it was Annejuli at The Road to Beacon Hill for her Samhain Sweets shop! She converted a Greenleaf SugarPlum cottage kit into an adorable candy shop. I showed this entry to BK and he said if such a shop existed, he’d be spending his weekends there. For a moment, I was a little sad that there’s no real-scale version of the Samhain Sweets shop…it’d make my life easier to know where my husband would be. 😛
Photo from the Undersized Urbanite site. (http://www.undersizedurbanite.com)
Again, I want to say a warm congrats to everyone who participated in this contest — the submissions were fantastic, and I sure can’t wait for the contest to start again. Think I might try out for it. But for now, I’m going to get comfy on my couch and start ogling the eye candies.
A Miniature Obsession 
You are so sweet, and I had to show my mom your mention of her in your post, which made for quite a nice smile on both our faces, and she jokingly remarked she should go into dollhouse wallpaper design. As for the 1:24 scale, you may spend time creating inventive curse words as you try to remember where you left pieces and dig parts out of your carpet, but seeing what nice work you already do, I doubt you will have any issues :-). I can’t wait to see how it and your other projects evolve. As for tutorials, I am really stumbling through this first build and I have been following tutorials others have done before, but I am certainly happy to share anything I can :-). Thank you for your kind words!
I got to thinking, and remembered I had printed out some extra copies of my mom’s wallpaper design (I was trying out different color schemes/tones before I settled on one for the bakery). They are on a moderately heavy weight paper (I only had one sheet of the watercolor paper) and have a slightly glossy finish. If you want, I am happy to ship you some (a sheet may be enough for a small half scale room). I don’t think I could ever use it all, and I could also maybe manipulate the colors and send a PDF or something (in 1:12 or 1:24) if greens don’t strike your fancy. Just a thought 🙂
Hmm….you’re tempting me! Let me think about it – though it does give me an excuse to get this 1/24 scale house I found on eBay…..:)
Oh you’re most welcome! Hey, if your mom wants to consider making wallpaper…I’ll be more than happy to be a regular customer. 🙂 I almost laughed at your statement about finding parts….after I wrote this entry, I put the other the lighthouse pieces back in the package. And somehow my dog managed to knock it off my table and scatter the pieces. Suffice to say, I was cursing in English and Tagalog as I crawled around the dining room finding pieces and putting them in freezer bags). Here’s to hoping I still have everything to assemble it! 😦 As for tutorials, am curious how you did the lights, since this is an area I’m still learning. But again, no rush on that — you should bask in the glow of victory from the UU contest! 😀
Too late! I’m blushing!! 😀 The UU entries were all wonderful indeed!
The submissions were indeed awesome — and congrats for being part of the judging panel for this year’s competition Brae! Will you be doing it again for the upcoming one? (am waiting for the 2015 contest rules to decide about trying this out).