Who Will It Be?

After another rambling entry regarding the wedding book I made, I ended with it a question: so whom amongst my (fast) growing group of mini dolls will be owning the book?

Well, that’s a pretty simple answer actually. Ladies and gentlemen — meet BK’s and my 1:12 scale counterparts.

Meet BK and me - at least, our mini counterparts.

There’s a bit of a story behind them. At least in terms of how I got them.

Meet Bryan - my husband's counterpart

I got BK’s counterpart (Bryan) via an auction listing on eBay by an artisan from the UK. She was selling dolls she created and dressed in 1940s fashion. I almost wanted to laugh when I saw this doll because it had similar features to BK. For starters, the hair style looks exactly like my husband’s preferred haircut. And second, the sweater vest and checkered pants…if BK could, he’d wear that everyday. Assuming he’d find a place that carried those pants in his size!

Needless to say, I put a bid on him and luckily, won the doll. This was in late 2010…at this point, BK and I were engaged, and this doll was one of the very few mini-related purchases I made. Mostly to keep my sanity from the preparations. When I received him a few weeks later, I was thrilled at how detailed he was. Then I realized that I needed my counterpart to have the same dimensions as this doll. But at this time, the artisan was no longer selling items of eBay. So I was left thinking my poor male doll would be without a companion for awhile.

Fast forward to March 2012, and imagine my surprise when I saw a listing on a doll similar to mine on eBay. When I went to check the seller’s other listings, I was thrilled to realize that a) it was the same artisan and b) she was accepting custom orders. So I quickly sent an email, and before you know it, we were messaging back and forth on my custom doll. Theresa (the artisan) was super awesome — she kept me in the loop of my doll’s status, and even provided me photos to review before I submitted my payment. This time, I made sure to keep her contact info in case I needed additional orders.

Needless to say, by early April, I received my counterpart. Am really happy how she turned out — Theresa faithfully reproduced a 1960s wrap dress I saw in an old advertisement that I have adored. She even matched the color of the dress to use on the doll’s heels. Until I find that same exact dress in real life, at least my counterpart is wearing my fantasy outfit.

I shall now call her...mini me. Except she's wearing a pretty cute red dress and some sexy heels.

The only detail I need to add to them are glasses. BK wears a pair of rimless glasses that he adores, and I have my pair of black nerdy frames. I picked up some eyewear but they don’t look right on the dolls. So unless someone has suggestions, that’s another item on my to-do list. Assuming I finish the Primrose kit bash in time (more on that later).

So now that I have the mini counterparts completed, it’s time for them to look at their wedding book…and make plans to celebrate their 6 month anniversary somehow.

Enjoying a quiet moment together -- and looking at their wedding photo book.

Man, I might have to reconsider about redoing this...that book looks like it's an anthology rather than a photo book!!!

Doing some reminiscing...

Close up of one of the pages Daphne & Bryan are viewing...

Apologies (Yet Again) and Some Updates

…am really sorry folks for yet another late post. I did promise to be better at writing my chronicles. But the last couple of weeks have been pretty taxing here in the real world. For starters, two weeks after I completed the Prototype Kit, my work world was turned upside down when a close coworker in my department suddenly passed away. It was devastating for all of us who worked with her — we all basically interacted with her that day.  But I think it was even worse for my bosses, who were with her when she had the heart attack, and watched her be taken away to the hospital. Only to find out the next morning that she sadly didn’t pull through.

I was working remotely on the day the news broke out.  Another coworker called my cell and tearfully told me the news.  Oddly, I don’t remember much of that day — think most of the time I just did what I could at home.  But it wasn’t until I returned to the office the following day, and seeing her cube did it finally hit me.  And it pretty much was a struggle after that until the day of the funeral.

Not gonna lie – it’s still difficult coming to work. I always have to walk past her cube to get to mine, and while her station has been recently cleared and prepped for a temp, think many of us are still expecting her to come in from perhaps her recent trip to Jamaica or North Carolina.  And probably raising a fuss as to why her stuff got moved around. Heck, there are times I sit at my desk and expect to smell the cinnamon tea she always brews for her breakfast and afternoon snack. So yes, it will pass…but right now, guess it’s one step at a time.

I know most folks will say that it will take time. But it’s funny how odd that sounds when you’re in a position of needing to grieve while needing to move on. Especially at work. And while the organization as a whole have been kind in holding back projects while my department gets back on its feet, it’s obvious that we need to keep going.

So again, thank you everyone who have been patient and provided support in the last couple of weeks. Most of you tend to roll your eyes and say it’s nothing. But seriously, thank you for everything.

In terms of minis, I did managed (and often forced) to do some work .  After the prototype, I wanted to try my hand at kitbashing the Primrose dollhouse kit. But with what happened at work, I knew I wouldn’t be in the right state of mind to tackle such a task. So to help me pass the time, I shuttled between just prepping the pieces for the kitbash, decorating some of my existing houses/displays, and purchasing some new items (sssh, don’t tell BK).  I’ll get the posts about them soon.

Again, thanks again, and (hopefully)….I am back.

Oh Dear God, My Wallet is Screaming at Me…

Found this very tasty discovery from StudioSeven’s blog Mini*Aesthetics. I will confess that I am sorely tempted to risk upsetting my husband. Granted, he’s been very encouraging in terms of my hobby/crazy obsession. But like any human, he has his limits.But seriously, this is tempting!

Apparently Chiasso.com is selling the Dylan House from Brinca Dada. And am willing to bet specific body parts, many a modern mini fan probably has a house (or more) from Brinca Dada in their ultimate wish list.  Granted, their houses are more of the 1:16 scale and “supposedly” designed for kids. But many fans know the idea of letting little fingers playing with these beauties is almost to the point of sacrilege. Let’s face — it’s too pretty.

Usually these houses can go in the hundreds depending on the vendor. But Chiasso is offering the Dylan house for the lovely price of — $98. Can we say score? Why, yes, yes we can.  Downside though — there’s only two left in stock.

Emotionally and mentally, I want this. I want it so bad that I have my wallet in front of my keyboard, and my credit card peeking out of it oh so slightly. As if tempting me to whip out its plasticky power and claim this house as my own. On the flip side, my brain’s threatening me with more than bodily harm if I go through with it. And the fact I’m gonna be feeling guilty because I will have to tell BK about why there’s a package at our apartment door.

Telling you — I need to win the lottery. 😦

Some House-Keeping, and Updates

Now that the madness known as the wedding have settled (and don’t get me started on the whole last name changing thing – that’s alone is a saga not worth talking about), it felt awesome to clear my workroom (aka the dining room) of all the DIY wedding stuff.  While I was thinking of selling the items on Craigslist or various classified sites for brides, I ended actually donating the stuff to a friend who was helping another friend’s wedding. So hopefully the stuff I have will be of use!

Rambling aside, figured I can now start putting out a list of things that I had WANTED to have completed before this year is over:

1. Build the A Frame House kit. Have gotten emails from folks curious about this kit, and I definitely need to chronicle its construction process.

2. Attempt to complete in the HBS’s 18th Annual Creatin’ Contest. Each year, miniatures.com holds a year-long contest where people customize a specific kit in their inventory. Photos are submitted by the end of the year, and the winner receives a $1000 gift certificate to their store. I dunno about you, but I can seriously can think of a TON of stuff to buy with that amount!

BK knew I was going back and forth on participating since all my free time was devoted to the wedding. Imagine my surprise when he decided to get me the contest kit as a birthday gift.  But with today being early November…as much as I want to meet the contest deadline of December 16th, I don’t think I’ll make it in time.  Will see though.

3. Build the Newport Cape by Duracraft. I’ve loved this kit for a long time, and managed to score one via Ebay late last year. My dolls are in dire need of a home, and frankly, I do owe them a place to stay rather than the rubbermaid bin in the closet. 😛

4. Testing a Prototype 1:12th Scale Kit. This is the one I feel the most awful about. In one of the forums I participated in, a fellow miniaturist (whom I will refer to as “Monsieur M”) asked me to test. He built this kit using the same technique used in real life houses (creating a wooden frame then applying a miniature “dry wall” so to speak). His request? For me to build it and chronicle the stages.

Easy as pie right? Except he asked me this awhile back. Like in 2009.  God, I feel like a dingbat.

Hopefully, Monsieur M is reading this, and will forgive me for putting this off. Because as of this date, I am putting this as the PRIORITY PROJECT OF 2011.

There, I’ve said it.  Now if you excuse me, I got my workshop to reopen and jump start into operation.

Yeah I Know It’s Been Awhile…

...not sure how most folks can do it. You know, juggle life and keep their blog posts up and running.

I will admit I am terrible with my blog. Will have moments where I’m furiously writing one entry after another. Then will have moments where real life simply gets in the way.

Since the last entry, things have just been plain nutty. If it’s not work kicking my ass, it’s the wedding planning and the apparently that erupts when the words “wedding” and “marriage” got dropped. And rather than DIYing my next mini project, all my energies are being put towards projects to said wedding.

Funny thing is, it didn’t occur to me how the more I worked into those projects, the unhappy I got. Was I unhappy? Was this going over my head?

Luckily, no — it was more of I never gave time to myself to do things I genuinely enjoyed.  Like reading a book. Or watching Scrubs. Or just being to cuddle next to my future husband BK on a Saturday morning and sleep in.

Not sure how it happened, but let’s say BK and my dolls decided to intervene. By having me make this cardbox out of a dollhouse roombox.

It was actually BK’s idea. He knew we needed a cardbox for the wedding. But seeing how stressed I was over the invites, he calmly suggested that I make it using a dollhouse roombox.  Funny how a simple idea like this actually lighten my mood considerably.

Started with getting the Seaview Roombox from a miniature shop in Canada called Victoria Miniland. It was a bit pricey (forget how shipping from Canada can be $$$ too!), but I definitely like it. It’s pretty straightforward assembling it, and I love how the front attaches to the main box by magnets embedded in the panel. So I don’t have to pull out the drill to make hinges. Though I might need to install latches to keep this secure.

While the overall roombox was easy, I was not crazy with the original door and window that came with it. For one, it was difficult as hell to paint its trim if you’re painting the rest of the box with a different color. Plus…I wanted the roombox to mimic the historical townhomes in Old Town Alexandria (where BK and I live). So ended up tearing out the door and windows, and installing a layer of foamcore to reinforce the front panel. That way, I can not only install a new door and window, but give a stable base to install siding (using cardboard upholstery strips).  The interior was pretty straightforward being a single room. But to help cut down costs (I was putting every single penny I saved towards the wedding), had to resort to using what I had available. That was probably a good thing — not only did I find what I needed, but discovered crap I bought months ago and had completely forgotten! 😛

Am pretty happy with the finished product (and apparently so did BK and my family). The hysterical part? Now my cousins are lining up asking if they can either borrow the cardbox or make one for them when it’s their time to get married. While that’s flattering and all…I’ll be too busy going back to my hobby thank you very much. Didn’t realize how much I miss doing this!

All the Single Ladies

My three single ladies From left to right: Theresa, Pia, Anya

Yeah, yeah, it’s been awhile since my last post (egads, close to a month ago!). Sorry about that folks, but after my last entry, things have been just plain nutty in the real world. If it’s not my job, it’s something occurring at home. Or the wedding. Or — still not sure how the hell this happened — the new conundrum of whether BK and I should look into buying a home (and scrapping the wedding plans altogether). Or having a crisis of faith and debating about changing the location of the wedding celebration (assuming we decide to screw buying a home).

Add to the mix the fact my desktop decided to die on me for real. Now I’m borrowing BK’s laptop at home until my lovely new — and hopefully more robust — desktop tower arrives from HP. And go through the lovely installation process of all my programs. Good times…

But enough of the bitchy rant — show me the minis!!!

I actually got these dolls awhile back — they are actually creations by Theresa Hutnik and was impressed by the designs. Course, the challenge I had was choosing which of her ladies I wanted to buy! Ended up settling for the middle and right most doll in the photo, submitting my payment via PayPal, and soon, was sitting waiting for the Postal Lady to show up with my packages (BK and I owe her a nice holiday gift for all the times she had to lug packages to our mailbox every day)!

When I got the box, I was a little confused at its size — I only ordered two dolls (the middle and right one in the photo), so the package should have been a relatively small one.  Little did I know that my passenger had guests. Along with the gals on the right — the another doll was wrapped beside them.

Got a little worried so I contacted Ms. Hutnik  to offer to pay for the third doll. Much to my surprise, she replied that the Doll #3 was a thank you gift!  Had to say, I sat at my computer for a good hour just blinking and making sure I read her email correctly. Did I hit the good karma jackpot or something?

After thanking Mr. Hutnik, I decided to name the doll. Hopefully she won’t mind. 🙂

Update: October 5, 2011 — I checked Ms. Hutnik’s Etsy shop and saw that she has two more dolls left. If you’re looking for a lovely lady (or two) to model your miniature world, totally recommend snapping them up. They look beautiful in the photos, but they’re even more gorgeous when you see them in person.

Something to Add in the “Lust List”

All I can say is "Yum!" (photo courtesy of Ann N. from Amazing Miniatures)

Took a break from work and decided to check out new postings in my list of favorite mini blogs. One of the ones I’ve started following is Ann’s Amazing Miniatures blog. The blog title’s so appropriate imho — Ann created some pretty impressive modern minis. And best part? She also runs a shop on Etsy selling her all-too-delicious creations.

The one that I’ve loved the most was her modern bookcase. Had to re-read the entries a couple of times to see how she constructed it. Honestly, the process sounds straightforward. But there is one thing Ann has that I don’t exactly have — and that’s patience. The more I read how she built the bookcase, the more I kept thinking “no way in *#@^&#@ hell do I have THAT KIND of patience!” Which is bizzare, given that I have no problem building a house the minute I get the kit. And that’s probably more complicated than this.

So unless I actually forced myself to make one, would have to make do of reading Ann’s blog and think what a lucky gal she is to own such a masterpiece.

So imagine my reaction when I checked out her blog — and discovered two surprises.

1. Ann learned how to clone the bookcase using resin = meaning now she can make reproductions of her gorgeous bookcase! And sell it on Etsy! (insert choirs of angels singing hymns here. Seriously)
2. To celebrate (and to start a stampede of rabid fans), Amazing Miniatures is doing a giveaway of one of these babies.

That’s right folks — a giveaway. In fact, Ann made it super easy to participate via two routes. The first is checking out her Facebook page and hitting the “like” button. The second route is posting a comment in her blog. Either route will automatically enter you into the giveaway.

Of course, you gotta haul ass if you wanna secure a chance to win. Last day to participate is Nov 19th,and frankly folks, that’s coming soon. ‘Fore you know it, it’s Turkey Day, and what better way to celebrate it than possibly being the lucky recipient of this bookcase?

With that said, here’s my (shameless) public service announcement — go to Ann’s blog, and participate. And if you win, let me know. I promise I won’t cry bitter tears when you gloat about your victorious win. 😛

Course, now am stuck with a dilemma — participate and wait to see if I win, or just submit to my need for instant gratification and hit the Etsy store? Ah, decisions, decisions!

Update (11/18/2010): After my stupid bills for the month finally cleared, was able to submit my first order for Ann’s bookcase! <insert party music here> Now I have to endure the waiting….stayed tuned when it arrives!!!

Am I Seriously Seeing This?

Come to daddy!

You’d think that having six kits (yes folks — six dollhouse kits) randomly stashed around the apartment, that should keep me busy for awhile. Considering how much I’d probably would end up spending for extras to complete each one (windows, door, flooring, wallpaper, etc).

But nope. Apparently that line of logic seems to fizzle the minute you bring up minis with me. Because so long as I’m connected to the Internet, I’ll be forever “shopping” around. And probably making the local US Postal delivery lady and the UPS/FedEx dude know my address in their sleep — there’s always a package at the front door. Even BK admits he’s gotten used to it. 🙂

Well, decided to look around at eBay for things, and ran across this ad.  I had to rub my eyes a couple of times to make sure I wasn’t imagining it. Nope, it’s true — someone’s selling a Villa Sibi dollhouse on eBay. Granted, the seller’s put a starting amount of $650 despite the free shipping. But the cheapest I’ve seen online for this house is $750.

Is it awful that I WANT this house? Or is it worse that I want this more than I want a wedding dress for my own wedding?  Part of me is seriously tempted to put the minimum bid. But then again, not sure how I’m gonna explain to BK how in the hell I managed to pay this unless I dipped into my now growing savings account — money that’s suppose to go to our nuptials 11 months from now.

Ach, guess I’ll have to make do and watch. And see which lucky bastard gets this house. 😦

Update as of November 10, 2010 — This Villa Sibi dollhouse got sold. Looks like someone opted to do the “Buy It Now” option on eBay and had $999.00 burning in their pocket….

It’s Here! It’s Here!!!!

Six days after my victorious win on eBay, I was surprised to come home and find at my apartment building’s main entrance three packages for me. One contained a partition that a fellow Greenleaf Dollhouse forum member made for me (thanks Mike!!) .Package 2 contained the Farmstead dollhouse kit from Celerity Homes (also an eBay find) — this is actually my second kit of this same house. Currently building the first one right now (more on that on another entry).

Package #3 — had to wait until later, because once I came into my apartment with packages at hand, BK whisked me out the door to have dinner with his best friend (and future best man) BC.  While I enjoyed BC’s company and getting the chance to eat at IHOP (me loves some breakfast food), couldn’t help but kept thinking of what was inside the last package.

Well, the “later” occured about…oh, maybe 12:45 am Saturday. BK was already asleep, and I worked as far as I could on my kit. Finally decided that while I was still wide awake, I’ll descend on the last package with my trusty craft scissors in hand…..

 

What do we have here? Oh my….

 

When I managed to rip the top part of the box, I almost had to bite my tongue when I saw the red package. Otherwise, I’d scream so loud and probably wake BK  (and our neighbors in general). It took some pulling and cutting more of the shipping package, but was able to pull out the kit with (muted) pomp and fanfare.

Talk about a beauty of a house! It’s suppose to be those A-frame houses that were popular during the 1970s. Didn’t opt to pull out the pieces, but from what I saw, the contents were intact — all the wooden pieces were present, plastic sheeting for the windows, and most importantly, the directions.

Was more impressed with the last part to be honest with you. Ganted the paper is yellow with age. But the sheet was still crisp and the printed directions were still clear.  Couldn’t get a good shot of the instructions, so I brought it to the kitchen and took snapshots of it.

Page 1 of the instruction manual. It has furniture included with the kit!

The sheet was pretty huge, but luckily seemed clear (enough). But won’t know until I start working on it — that is, if I finish the Celerity farmstead. 🙂

This is super exciting — can’t wait when it’s this house’s turn to get assembled!

A Loophole? Why Yes Please!

Encouraged by the last build, decided to tackle on another mini project in between things going on in RL (you know, work, bills, finding a damn wedding minister, etc).  But in order to not make myself (anymore) crazy, I had to agree with the following rules  BK imposed.

1) Between now and the wedding, I am only allowed to have 4 kits in the apartment due to space constraints.

2) I can purchase more minis, only if I use up what I currently have (this provision, folks, sucks dirty ass).

3) In regards to Item 1 — I must choose my kits carefully because the ones that I pick are the ones that I am allowed to keep.

Dunno about you folks, but Items 1 & 3 are the toughest.  It doesn’t help that there are so many kits out there that I’d LOVE to have and build. An equally sucky factor on top of that is that for all the miniaturists and dollhouse fans out there, October is National Dollhouse and Miniature Month. Yes, folks, this does exists, and this doesn’t help all of us who are now barraged with emails from online mini vendors about sales and what not.  I’m telling you all, this is evil, evil, evil!!!

But rather than go to a corner and cry myself to a stupor, decided that like all rules, some are made to be bent. Just a little bit. Besides, BK knows better than to not interfere with a girl and her obsession. Especially since he was crazy enough to want to marry one.

Then it hit me — he only said I could keep 4 kits. But he never specified about limiting room boxes. They’re not really houses, and they usually come already assembled. So maybe — MAYBE — that might be my loophole.

Suffice to say, I went on a mad quest to look for room  boxes that weren’t so expensive. Almost passed out at how much vendors online were selling them. If it wasn’t the price of the boxes that sucked, it was shipping it that was worst. 😦

Luckily I found a seller on eBay that was selling handmade room boxes. I won one room box, and out of curiousity, checked to see if this same person was selling them on Etsy. Was pretty stoked to find out that he did — and promptly ordered two more.

At the moment, Jeff & Vernon (the two very talented gentlemen who make these boxes) are selling two kinds — one is a standard box that they installed legs, a sliding plexiglass door (to keep the dust out), and two window openings. The other one is a bit different in that it does have the legs, but instead, has a roof installed on top. The size of both are pretty good — it’s definitely big enough to be a cozy room for my dolls.  Plus, the prices and shipping rate are super reasonable — always a big plus for me. Granted, it takes a bit of time since they make the items to order. Again, that’s not a problem for me — bottom line, I’m more than happy to support artisans by buying directly from them whenever possible.

So I ordered the boxes, and after accosting the UPS driver (he’s probably wondering why he’s delivering packages to the apartment almost every day), the three arrived. Vernon & Jeff, if you both are reading this — you both scored a customer from me. Looking forward to start working on this!

…and hopefully BK won’t kill me after he sees the mess I’ve made in the dining room….