Tag Archives: miniature

A Dozen Miniatures

9 Mar

Sometimes a change in the weather can be a blessing in disguise. We were supposed to have our usual weekend golf game, but it rained the whole of Sunday morning. We decided to go home and not wait around because this type of rain will not cede.

Very yummy effort!

Hubby, of course, baked while I decided to finish up DIY project number 12. I must admit it took some effort because the cool weather was perfect for doing nothing. He attempted a Pineapple Upside Down Cake again because the first attempt failed sometime back. I only had the three lanterns and the last two baskets of the dim sum left to complete.

Dragon Gate Inn is such a cute set
The interior, no patrons now due to Covid-19

And when I finally did, the sense of accomplishment was just so rewarding. I even put together the display dust cover as this set came with it. As the Ikea display cabinet is already full, the dust cover is perfect for keeping the dust out of DIY project number 12, which I anticipate, I will put on the table.

The first miniature with a dust cover

So now, I have a dozen miniatures completed! Wow. Project number 13 will be next soon.

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DIY Project #12, Part 2

5 Mar

Lately, I can’t find the right opportunity to get going with DIY project number 12. Maybe because I can play golf again with the MCO relaxed, the need to kill time at home is not so essential. After all, a round of golf will take up almost half the day, whether it is a morning or afternoon tee-off.

Also, there are things to do in the office, and I have been going to the office. By the time we head home, the usual evening dinner routine and chores leave hardly any window for me to sit down at my little station to work on the miniature. Oh well, I am not rushing to complete it.

Almost done with this

But luckily, towards the end of last week, I had time as I did not play any weekday golf, and work at the office was complete. So I think the project is at the tail-end, and I should complete it soon.

The remaining decor items to complete
Project #12, a wonderful piece

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DIY Project #12

15 Feb

DIY project number 12 started immediately upon the completion of DIY project number 11. And it has been slow, very slow. There were things to do in the office, and I was busy. As such, there wasn’t much time to devote to number 12.

DIY Project #12, Dragon Gate Inn

The week before Chinese New Year, we were working late every day. I didn’t even have time to cook, what more to work on my miniature project?

Nonetheless, it is not a race to complete project number 12 but a time-filler to pass the time.

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DIY Project #10, Part 2

25 Jan
Project #10

Last week, DIY project number ten was somewhat complete. But one cannot tell the difference if I did not say anything. In terms of decoration, I left some accessories out, and I did not glue everything down.

I like the idea of moving the furniture pieces around. There’s interaction involved rather than merely admiring the craftsmanship. I also did not complete a couple of canvases because I wanted to customize using my painting and art collection instead of the art pieces provided.

Canvases were intentionally left blank
These itty bitty art pieces were left out

However, with the MCO in place, customizing was out of the question. There was insufficient time to print (at the office) the pictures that I wanted to include as the home printer ran out of ink. That’s why I left the canvases blank. Well, when the opportunity presents itself, I will complete this final step.

Soon after I finished the set, I started on project number 11 the next day. And two days later, the latest online DIY purchases arrived! With so many DIY projects waiting for me, being restricted under the MCO is not that bad after all.

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MCO 2.0, Part 2

18 Jan

It’s coming to a week already that we are under lockdown in the MCO 2.0 phase. I must say this time we are better prepared. There was no panic-buying for grocery on our part because it feels normal, like what we have been going through. The only difference being no golf outing and no need to be in the office.

We have been good staying home this time because there are things to keep us busy. Hubby baked while I worked on my DIY project. There is also much to catch up on as far as house chores are concerned. I even washed all my golf shoes to the point of removing all the laces to bleach them white.

Giving the shoes some sun to dry!

Before this latest MCO, I did not have time to clean my golf shoes. I just rotated them because I was playing so much. Now, with this two-week break, the shoes are getting a makeover. Other than this effort, I am, of course, working on DIY project number ten. It’s coming along swell. I reckon I can complete it before the end of the week! Yay.

Almost done with project #10!

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MCO 2.0

15 Jan

We were all expecting it, another lockdown. True enough, on Monday, the announcement came that MCO (Movement Control Order) 2.0 will be enforced from January 13 to 16, 2021. However, not the whole nation will be under MCO, only states with a high number of positive Covid cases. And where I live, we are affected, and thus, we have to follow the MCO rules. States that are faring better will be under either the CMCO or RMCO phases.

This lockdown is inevitable as the public healthcare sector cannot cope already with the surge of positive cases in four-digits for several days now. During this MCO phase, SOPs are more strict going out and being out in public areas. If possible, don’t go out.

So for the next two weeks, golf outings are out of the question. Maybe this is for the best. I can rest and focus on DIY project number ten that has stalled.

Design work in the office picked up a little during the last two weeks. As such, I couldn’t devote too much of my time to my whimsical project because I was tired-out when I got home. But now, with this forced break and no golf, I can focus on it. Perhaps I can complete DIY project number ten before the two weeks are up? We shall see.

Coming along swell!

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DIY Project #10

11 Jan

With the dawn of the new year, DIY project number ten kicked in. It’s been 11 days already that I have been working on it, albeit slowly. After the big disappointment of project number nine, this was a welcome change. I am taking my time on this project because I want to customize certain things.

Project #10

I learned from my Facebook DIY group about customizing miniatures. These die-hard fans changed colors, materials, and props in all the projects that they did. Spurred by their creativity, I experimented on project number eight. But it was only a color change on the wall, nothing too elaborate or drastic. That was as far as I went, and no other changes or additions in terms of materials and props.

So this time, I want to push further to see how much I can customize. We shall see as I progress along for DIY project number ten!

Slowly but surely coming along!

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Problematic DIY Project #9

8 Jan

DIY project number nine was a big disappointment and not worth gushing about it. The instructions were incomplete and vague at times, and the text prints were so small, with no color contrast for readability when placed over a picture. It was a struggle to figure out what to do. I went through the motion to get it done and completed the project on the last day of the eventful 2020 year.

Project #9. Tiny red text over brown pictures is horrid.
Quite a challenge to align and glue at 90 degrees

I customized certain things and did not bother fixing up the lights because I felt so let down after the high of completing project number eight. Looking back, I’m glad I finished it quickly and took a few days off doing miniatures before starting on project number ten.

Model is different on box and instructions!
The completed project #9

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The Year That Wasn’t

1 Jan

Goodbye Year 2020! What a year it turned out to be. I felt that it was a year that wasn’t – in other words, we were, firstly, short-changed for nine months in our lives and secondly, didn’t turn out so great as many envisioned it would be.

Before reaching this nice number, people, myself included, thought it would be a spectacular year. But alas, how wrong we all were. The Covid-19 pandemic created so much havoc in the world. And everything is never the same again.

Gone are the closeness and freedom that we took for granted with our movement with friends, society in general, and places we visit; in place, it is now constant caution, fear to a certain degree, and restriction.

For me, I felt my 2020 was just three months only, the first quarter of the year. After we went into lockdown in March, the next nine months, day-in, day-out felt like deja-vu. A new routine was born, and old habits had to give way because we had to learn to adjust to the new normal. Thank goodness we didn’t go crazy with cabin fever, and instead, discovered ourselves in many other aspects.

I learned to appreciate my friends, the home, and family more. Although work at the office took a beating to practically zero design work in March and April, it did not dampen our spirits. M2 came back from Ireland and had an extended six-month summer break. M1 stayed put, and we talked every morning to keep her company.

The new normal made both of us manage our time better to be more productive in other things. Hubby learned to bake, an unthinkable endeavor in all the years that I have known him, and I brushed up my cooking skills to widen the variety in our meals because eating out was not an option.

I also picked up a new hobby to keep myself busy after my Meranti wood supply for carving depleted by May. From June onwards, I started working on DIY miniature sets, and have completed nine DIY sets thus far in a spate of six months.

Another good thing that came out of this situation was my golf game, which improved tremendously. With downtime in the office, I was playing more golf than ever. After the lockdown eased, and golf was allowed because it is an outdoor activity, I was golfing up to four times a week! So maybe the year wasn’t that bad after all on the personal front despite being in deja-vu mode.

As 2020 is behind us now, it does not mean the pandemic is over. Far from it, in fact. We should remain vigilant, put on our masks whenever we are in public areas, and keep a one-meter distance apart to be safe.

A toast to a better year ahead – may 2021 bring better fortune and goodness for everyone. Happy New Year, and stay safe wherever you are!

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The Biggest DIY Set, Part 2

29 Dec

The IKEA display cabinet, the enormous DIY set, was finally set up on Christmas morning. It was a messy affair, far worse than Christmas present papers strewn all over the floor upon unwrapping. Thank goodness the living room floor space is large, and even then, the torn boxes covered the floor space.

We had to rip the box to get the things out

I must say the cabinet looks good with all my DIY projects proudly on display. Unfortunately, the space is limited, and I had to place some miniature sets back-to-back. And at the rate that I am making all these miniatures, one display cabinet is not enough!

I may have to buy another cabinet because project number five is left sitting on top, and I am currently working on project number nine. The display cabinet has no more space to fit anymore inside.

All my small DIYs inside the big DIY piece

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