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Problematic Project #5, Part 2

20 Oct

I finally completed DIY project number five. Phew. Towards the end of the project, it was mostly frustration I felt. The instructions were vague, making the chandelier was challenging, and then I discovered there was another chair to make! That makes it nine chairs altogether.

Had to be creative to make the chandelier parts stick
Weighing down the lights for the glue to set
Chairs, chairs, and more chairs!

Project number five is a container cafe, and it has so many chairs. And I found assembling the chairs a bit funny, gluing paper to the chair seat and backrest. I bypassed this step and painted the chairs instead. Then again, making chairs from scratch isn’t the easiest either from experience dealing with the chairs in DIY project number four.

These are not the easiest to make

Overall, there’s so much paper, not just small pieces but big pieces to work with for surfaces of all sizes, come to think of it. After a while, it was ridiculous. Why so much paper? Argh.

Such a tiny cafe and one chandelier is not working. Hrmph.

And when I thought I was on the last stretch to finish the set, the wiring for the lights gave me problems! Sigh. One of the chandeliers could not light up, and I cannot figure it out. So I gave up fixing it. I am glad I persevered and completed the set. It will now be on display with the other completed projects on the dining table.

Project #5, a container cafe with 9 chairs!

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Problematic Project #5

16 Oct

I have been working on DIY project number five for almost three weeks now. And boy, does it have its challenges, unlike the previous projects. One would think that with the instructions in English, it would be a breeze.

Contrary to feeling good, I’m stressed instead. There were signs of problems at the outset, but I chose to ignore them. However, as I progressed along, the issues became more glaring.

There were missing pieces and incorrect sizes of paper in ratio to the corresponding wood. Luckily, I managed to figure out the solutions to overcome them.

Ice cream stick to the rescue again!

The most glaring problem was the lack of an inventory checklist. I had to rely on the pictorial guide in the manual, which wasn’t very clear to figure out things. Most of the packages are labeled ‘A’ – making it hard to find the pieces. When the instructions called for an item from package ‘A’ to paste to paper, I cannot find the said item. It was very exasperating.

Every pack is labeled ’A’!

The instruction manual is another issue. Printed in A4 and 14 points (sometimes 18 points) font-size does not necessarily mean they are clear! The instructions are vague, and I found myself at a loss sometimes.

Sigh. I come across as not enjoying working on this set. Well, I have to finish it regardless.

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New Bits

6 Oct

At the beginning of this year, I purchased some mini drill bits from my favorite online shopping site, and they arrived several days later. The last bit to make the whale eyes had broken, and these were the replacement. And I used them a fair bit when I was carving my whales then.

But now that my drill has kaput, it will be some time before the bits see any more action. Sigh. The question to ask should I buy a replacement drill or not?

Seeing that lately, I am more into doing DIY miniature projects and not so much carving and woodworking, a new drill may not be necessary yet. We shall see.

So sadly, the mini bits are just sitting there with the rest of the bits, collecting dust.

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Double Accident

5 Oct

It’s been a while since I last used my mini drill. Last week, I decided to use it and inadvertently caused a mini double accident.

The DIY cafe was at the tail-end of completion. I had to drill a little hole for the wire from the table to go underneath to connect to the rest of the wires at the other end. But things did not go as planned.

I switched on the drill and tripped the power in the house. Oops. Initially, I thought it was the adapter plug but on further tests, it’s the drill. Sigh. I’ll deal with this another time.

Immediate attention was on the hole to drill. So I had to poke a hole manually with my carving tools. Luckily, the base wood isn’t that hard. I just had to be patient but persistent.

The hole for the wire that caused the accident

I tilted the cafe at an awkward angle to get a comfortable position. And accidentally tilted a wee bit too much, the whole cafe fell off the table! I was horrified.

Clothes pegs are useful gadgets to use!

Thankfully the damages weren’t too bad. Only the back roof truss broke, the bar stool top came off and a flower fell out of place.

With a little creativity, the roof truss was glued and held back in place, while the other two were glued back without issues. As it was last bit of this project, I finished it without further challenges.

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Just the Two of Us

2 Oct

Now that M2 has arrived safely and undergoing her quarantine, we are back to just the two of us at home. And so, the routine is back to normal; in other words, I’m playing golf every other day again.

And in between this routine, it’s the DIY projects that keep me busy. Oh, project #4 was completed a day before her departure, and project #5 started soon after.

#4 – The cafe without lights
Night mode of the cafe

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An Early Surprise

15 Sep

I was pleasantly surprised when my online purchase arrived yesterday. I certainly did not expect the parcel to arrive so soon this week. But it did, and I’m pleased.

So, what did I buy? Yet another DIY set, of course!

DIY project number five! 😍

This will be my fifth set, and from the looks of it, the biggest and heaviest by far (1.682kg according to the parcel description). But even without the weight mentioned, the package felt heavy when the delivery man handed the parcel over to me.

Ooohhhh… I can’t wait to get started on it. However, I have to finish project number four first before I can even open the individual packs inside this latest DIY set to get a feel of things.

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Missing Pieces

14 Sep

DIY project number four has been coming along at a good pace until a slight hiccup several days ago. Or should I say, a big stumbling block? I discovered that some pieces were missing! Uh oh.

Unfortunately, I discovered two important elements missing only now after working on the set for some time. I guess I couldn’t have found out earlier as the focus was on the bigger and individual pieces. These two missing pieces are essential for the itty bitty decorations.

Missing item #1: labeled K10, it is a bunch of plastic leaves for the flowers. I sat on this problem for several days, wondering how to overcome this. In the end, I bought a pack of leaves and improvised from there, cutting them down to fit. And they did, thank goodness.

Missing item #2: labeled K09, it is an 80cm length of wire for making the stem/stalk of the plants/flowers. I took some garden wires from hubby’s supplies, and trimmed them down to make the plants and flowers. And they came out good. Phew!

Sometimes we need to improvise and DIY a DIY project. I hope no more discoveries of missing pieces from here onwards.

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Knock! Knock! Let Me In

11 Sep

It’s been a while since my preoccupation with the caterpillars in our garden. Ever since the various MCO phases, I’ve hardly ventured out to the garden because I’ve been busy cooking, carving and crafting inside the house.

Knock! Knock! Let me in… 😅

So it was a surprise when we discovered one adventurous caterpillar on our front door! Is it trying to come in? Hahaha… It amazingly made the long trek from the lime tree in front of the house, a good ten feet away, and four feet up the door. How? Why? I don’t know.

We also spotted another one on the same lime tree. While it’s nice to have them around, just to observe their growth and transformation, they’re actually detrimental to the plants.

Nonetheless, we didn’t have the heart to harm our little adventurous friend, so hubby relocated him to the garden. It certainly looked happy chomping away on the leaves when I checked on it the next day.

Relocated to the garden

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Good Progress

7 Sep
The makings of DIY project #4

There’s much progress with DIY project #4. Most of the big pieces are done up. However, I face some unexpected predicaments.

The two cross beams are not quite aligned and the main pillar cannot touch the roof! Yikes. I have to modify things a little to resolve these issues so that the whole set does not fall apart.

The coffee machine

Other than these structural challenges, the little pieces are coming along at a good pace. I think this set can be completed quickly. If this is the case, I should buy another set, ready to be worked on when this set is completed.

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Endings and Beginnings

4 Sep
So detailed when lighted up!

I have finally completed the DIY project #3. It now sits proudly with the other two completed projects at the dining table. Even my Gnomes are enjoying the fruits of my labor, chilling in all the rooms! Heheh…

Four Gnomes are just chillin’

And so, with an end, another begins – the fourth DIY project which is another cafe. And it’s about the same size as the earlier cafe but minimal plants.

Here we go with Project #4!

I find this latest set is even more challenging because the instructions are rather small in font size, and all in Chinese unlike the previous sets. And I for one, cannot read Chinese!

So I had to download the Google Translate app and use if the pictorial steps with tiny Chinese characters are not clear. Thank goodness for technology that is put to good use here.

Well, I’m in no hurry to finish this set and will work on it at a comfortable pace. The best part, no fabrics to deal with! Yay.

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