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Surprise, Surprise… Not

22 Dec

Well, well, the CMCO was extended again until the end of the year! It certainly wasn’t a surprise and expected. What can we do? Life goes on with my routine revolving around cooking, cleaning, golf games, and DIY miniatures. Oh yeah, and the occasional design work to do in the office.

The last nine months went by rather quickly. When we went into lockdown in March during a global pandemic, we thought how dreadful life would be. But as I reflect now, it wasn’t that bad. Instead, we should be thankful that we are healthy. Along the way, both hubby and I discovered new skills and hobby.

If the CMCO phase continues to usher in the new year, so be it. We need to continue to contain the spread of the Covid-19. Stay safe, folks!

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Eenie Meenie Miney Mo

21 Dec

The latest DIY purchases arrived! So now, I have all these DIY sets waiting for me. Initially, I thought upon completing DIY project number eight, the Study – I should work on the fruit shop set next to take things easy without stress.

But seeing the intricate and exciting new sets, I am having second thoughts about taking things easy and may jump into the more challenging ones. Maybe I’ll Eenie Meenie to pick one.

Which one next to do? Hmm. 🧐

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Excuses! Excuses!

18 Dec

I find myself admiring and playing with project number eight instead of finishing it up. Every evening, I would place a Citizen of Gigglesville on the sofa chair and giggle at the scene before me. It’s very entertaining!

Citizens visiting the Study
Looking very contented!
Citizen #118 doing a balancing act

I am finding excuses to procrastinate and not to start on the lights. There’s the fact that I have work to do in the office this whole week, and I don’t have the time because I’m also playing golf and cooking. It’s becoming a mental block.

Honestly, I find reading instructions is not something I enjoy. But doing up the lights requires focus, and I need to be more disciplined about this if I intend to wrap up project number eight before Christmas. So, no more excuses!

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DIY Project #8, Part 3

14 Dec

The tail-end of project number eight is just so hard! I find that I do not quite enjoy making chandeliers or hanging lights for all my sets. The last complicated one during project number five was a let-down. After painstakingly working on them and putting them up, the middle light did not work. I was disappointed.

Gotta push myself to do the lights

So here I am, procrastinating on this lighting challenge. I thought I would take some time to finish this project, but I’m much faster than anticipated. All the shelves, books, and accessories are done and placed accordingly to the plan as outlined. Even the sofa chair, which initially, I thought would be a challenge, was completed without issues. I even took the initiative to change the color of the main wall.

The making of a sofa chair
The completed sofa chair

Well, I’m pushing myself to wrap this up soon because I’m keen to get started on project number nine, a fruit shop similar to project number seven, the tea parlor. In other words, it is an easy set, and it would be nice to end the tumultuous year working on something easy without any added stress.

Making my Citizens try the sofa chair. Some are happy, some are not!

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DIY Project #8, Part 2

7 Dec

Project number eight has been progressing well. I even joined a Facebook group of fans working on such DIY projects. There are various sets, and all these DIY die-hards share their efforts, progress, and finished sets on the social media site. I get very motivated and inspired when I see all the beautiful results!

From the group, I learned a few new things or two. These fans are pros! Some of them even customized their sets with extra accessories or colors. It never crossed my mind to customize the DIY sets from the very beginning.

My set will have a green wall

Who knows, maybe from here on, I will customize my sets too. For now, I will stick to what’s on the instruction book to complete project number eight without extra items. However, I did paint the main wall a lime green color instead of leaving it white.

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DIY Project #8

4 Dec

Last Saturday was a rare non-golf day for me. I needed a break as I had played on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday already. Moreover, I would be playing on Sunday, so in between that streak, a much-needed rest was necessary.

It was nice to be home, but I did not sit on my laurels. I started on DIY project number eight. When I opened the box and took out all the packets, it looked daunting. But so far, it has been such fun working on it.

Project #8

It’s been a week already that I am on it, taking my time. The bookshelves are such a joy. Pieces are interlocking so that the shelves align, unlike project number four, where I had to measure the spacing in between manually. And even then, things went a little off for that project. I learn as I progress.

The interlocks are at the back. So clever!

For other furniture pieces, like the mini table, there are holes to ensure the legs can fit properly. However, the legs were a tad too fat, so I had to file them down. Nothing too stressful that I could not handle.

On the whole, it is just time-consuming because there are so many of the same things required. Like the books, there’s a whole lot of them. And cutting all the paper and gluing them to make a block of books or to the wood pieces. Speaking of books, I thought it was hilarious that most of the books are titled “Book.”

Slowly but surely, project number eight has been fun and moving at a good pace.

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My Waldo Covers

1 Dec

During the various MCO and CMCO phases in the past eight months, we hardly ventured out to the mall (except that trip to IKEA) for any indulgence, be it dining or shopping. And grocery shopping at our regular grocer does not count as shopping.

So I find myself doing a fair bit of online shopping instead to suppress the occasional urge to buy something, which is kind of nice sometimes. There’s so much to explore with just a flick of the fingers from the comforts of home.

It was this act that I discovered the world of DIY miniature sets. Besides my obsession for this–I’m currently on project number eight with two more in the queue–the two things I find myself buying a lot are baking gadgets for hubby to use and golf-related items.

The recent 11.11 purchases, besides the two DIY sets, are golf paraphernalia, specifically, covers for my golf irons. They are rather cute and reminds me of the fictional character, Waldo.

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The Biggest DIY Set

30 Nov

Friends have asked me what do I intend to do with all the DIY miniatures that I have built? Well, for one, they are collecting dust! Seriously, for now, the sets are everywhere. Two are on the lazy Susan in the dining room and the rest on the table in the living room. I need to find a place to display them without the added dust.

Two weekends ago, hubby and I went to IKEA to buy a display cabinet. Now, as everyone knows, IKEA products all come in a flattened box or boxes, especially the bulky items, like a display cabinet. We need to DIY things ourselves.

I have to find the time to set up the display cabinet soon. And hubby will, of course, help because this DIY set is the biggest by far to do.

The Detolf display waiting to be DIY-ed

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DIY Project #7, Part 2

27 Nov

I made short work of DIY project number seven, the tea parlor. In less than a week, five days actually, I completed the set. But it wasn’t as easy as anticipated.

The tea parlor

There were problems and unclear instructions, but generally, nothing too hard that I could not overcome. To my surprise, there was an additional piece of instruction paper that I almost missed out. Then several decorative scrolls were not mentioned where they should go on the set. So I didn’t use them. And the teapot and cups had come glued already on the table! Eeesh.

Vague instructions and several unused pieces

Some instructions were vague and almost none as far as placement goes for the furniture pieces. It didn’t make sense that the outside display shelves were blocking the entrance to the shop. The picture of the completed set on the box cover is so deceiving. I decided to eyeball their placement, creating some space, and I felt this was much better, space-wise.

A small gap between the outer shelves and the main display counter

I must say the overall set is not well thought out. There was no hole on the back wall or gutter channel for the wires to go through. I decided to make one so that they do not hinder the roof from aligning to the walls properly. And there was no proper space allocated to hide the battery pack. It merely said, place the battery pack behind the set! Exposed and not hidden at all. Wow. All my other completed projects had a discreet place for this essential item.

Terrible wiring plans and I had to improvise

However, I was pleasantly surprised that there were real tea leaves provided. I had to seal the display counter properly once the tea leaves were in place.

I could smell the tea

All in all, I didn’t feel challenged working on this set, a pity. But I am glad I got this done and out of the way. I can now start on the more challenging project number eight, which is The Study set. This one will take time. But I look forward to the challenge ahead.

Project #7

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Giddy Again

24 Nov

The second online purchased DIY set finally arrived last week, and yes, I got giddy all over again. But as I have started on project number seven, the tea parlor, the latest purchases have to wait.

An exciting DIY set awaits!

This second parcel is a study, with shelves of books, a departure from the houses, cafes, and Japanese restaurant that I have completed. And like the earlier choice, an art studio, both sets are full of intricate and detailed pieces. I can’t wait to work on them!

I foresee finishing up the not-very-challenging project number seven by the coming weekend and will dive right into working on the study. The art studio and the fruit shop, which was purchased much earlier, will have to queue for later.

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