Building something is better than waiting and wondering when my DIY pinball machine package will arrive. I am not too upset about the delay. If it arrives, good. If it’s late, no big deal. I’ve waited so long already; a few more days make no difference.
Over the weekend, I received this cute little Snoopy DIY kit as an early birthday gift. It was a very thoughtful gift from my niece. I guess an alternative build is better than nothing, right?
It was an enjoyable Snoopy kit, and I completed it in no time. It now adds to my other Snoopy collection, an alternative to the DIY miniatures I have been doing all these years.
A week has passed since the deadline, and there has been no change in the status of my DIY pinball machine kit. In other words, it has not shipped yet. Boo. At this point, my urge to build has waned.
Two days after the vendor missed the delivery deadline, as shown on my favorite online shopping site, I messaged them again to get a status update. There’s the usual apology message, asking for my patience and saying they are doing their best to expedite all orders on time.
“Doing their best?” I thought. Duh, I don’t think so. Are there so many ardent crafters like me who ordered this DIY pinball machine specifically that they can’t fulfill the deliveries? It’s now been two and a half weeks since I placed the order.
To avoid becoming frustrated with the situation, I might dust off one of the boxes in my stash and start working on an existing kit while I wait for this particular kit to arrive, or forget about this whole crafting thing! After all, the enthusiasm has died down now, with all that waiting for the kit to arrive.
Sometimes, things don’t work out as intended. In my case, contemplating another challenging DIY project after the Marble Run Spaceport, purchased from a physical store in the mall, has hit a snag due to this delay. The only consolation from this episode is my patience, something that is never a virtue of mine. Oh well.
I finally made myself work on a DIY project this year, my first project of 2026 after such a long break from an activity that I once loved and dedicated a lot of time to. Yay! As you know, during the Lunar New Year, I wasn’t feeling festive, and the weather during this time was terrible, alternating between hot and wet; it wasn’t pleasant.
Playing my games daily on the iPad was so addictive and unhealthy that I decided to recalibrate my routine. Time for crafting! I had stopped my crafting for quite a while, and all those unboxed miniatures that I had aspired to build are collecting dust! Ugh.
However, I did not unearth a box from the tower of miniatures. There are eight boxes altogether, projects of different sizes and difficulty. Instead, I bought a whole new type of model to work on. It is a mechanical piece that looks overwhelming but does not require glue. Looks like fun, yet intimidating.
The infinite cycle Marble Run Spaceport did pose a challenge, but only for a short while. I took five days to complete the DIY kit, several hours each day. Upon completion, there was a sense of achievement as the kit was a Level Four in difficulty!
My first DIY project for the year!
The mechanical part featured a USB-C connection, which was quite impressive, and not a battery pack like all my previous miniatures that required one for the lights. Amazing how things have changed and improved since my last build.
Now that I have completed the kit, where can I keep or display the spaceport without collecting dust? Sigh. A win for personal satisfaction, but a no-win for storage. With this niggling display situation, should I even attempt the remaining eight boxes? Something to consider for this year.
While I excitedly recounted my travel highlights for 2025, I regrettably noticed a decline in my other activities. My carving dwindled to just a few pieces, and building miniature creations has become a thing of the past!
Instead of sitting to create, I sit and play my games on the iPad Mini. Too much at times! I do feel guilty, but I can’t seem to break away from this addiction. And it’s just two games—two silly games only—that sometimes take up to mindless and endless hours on the device. So bad! Ugh.
Perhaps in 2026, I should reconsider my sedentary activities and return to carving or building miniatures. There were other games that I was playing on the iPad, but I managed to tear myself away from them and even deleted them. However, Homescapes and Tasty Travels are still keeping their hold on me. I need to be stronger!
Over the weekend, I officially started working on DIY project #33. And it has been such a breeze putting things together. I don’t recall the past projects being this easy. And I have done 32 kits until now! By the way, project #32 is my first incomplete kit because I stopped for too long.
Anyway, this kit is definitely an improvement from past kits because I have yet to use glue to bind pieces to become one. Most wood pieces now have interlocking joint extrusions, a feature absent in earlier kits, especially for the walls and flooring. This new feature makes connecting the pieces effortless! But I use a hammer, though–instead of glue–to ensure the interlocking is secure.
The surfaces of the main floor and some walls are pre-printed, so no cutting of paper or gluing is needed. Paper pieces that require cutting are pre-cut with crease lines for folding! And some are as stickers instead. How convenient is that? And pieces without joint extrusions are secured with double-sided tape, provided with the kit! I’m like, what? I don’t need my glue anymore! I love it!
I chose to skip playing golf or pickleball this time and instead focused on crafting, and it turned out to be a good decision, as I made a lot of progress. I anticipate that project #33 will wrap within a short time. Awesome!
Last week, I thought I had a break from Homescapes when I could not progress beyond Level 15350 – the game released the new levels the next day! Uh oh. So, building miniatures is a no-go again.
I try to limit my time on my iPad Mini, keeping the activity to just reading the news and watching videos on YouTube. But, as far as Homescapes is concerned, it’s hard not to play it.
I am now at Level 15398. Will I complete all the latest levels before I hit a snag again and stall? We will find out.
I think I am playing too much golf, raking up three games in a row last week. It’s tiring. There do not seem to be any improvements in my ability to play well. The putting gets to me, the roller coaster scores upon completion irked me, and I feel piqued to sacrifice all those balls that cannot cross the ponds and lakes. The list can go on! Sigh.
Thankfully, I have conquered my fear of the sand bunker and can escape without adding additional strokes to the score. I will take a short break to let my tired body recover and focus on building my miniatures to keep busy.
Public holidays are always a welcome occasion! We had a public holiday in the middle of the week. A break in momentum from golf, work, and routine, so hubby and I took in a movie which was a welcomed change.
So far, it is the only break for July; the next public holiday is at the end of August. Perhaps another movie during that time? Hmm.
I finally completed DIY project number 29 three days ago. It was the finishing touches to wrap it up. Working with fabric – cloth, felt, or PU leather is not my favorite. It is so hard to get these materials to stick to each other. I always end up with more glue on my fingers than the piece in hand!
Flimsy looking stand lamp
The other thing I don’t fancy is using thin wires to make tiny pieces of furniture legs or lights, such as a table or standing lamp. Wires are flimsy, and it’s tough to shape and glue them together. Add in the lighting wires, and the assembly, most times, is a disaster waiting to happen if I am not patient with the challenge. Then I have to modify or start all over again.
The standing lamp construction did not look stable, in my opinion. The task called for sticking the light cables to the skinny wire stand. I had doubts the structure could hold and carry the weight of the lampshade too. I tried and failed.
So I had to improvise. Otherwise, DIY project number 29 would be incomplete. I used a straw to make the stand of the lamp. And it held the wire and light cables inside effortlessly and neatly. The blue straw, unfortunately, does not quite blend with the overall color scheme, but I’m okay with it. The stand lamp looks more solid than what was in the manual.
With the switch and the battery added, DIY project number 29 now sits nicely on the open shelves with a dust cover. Whee!
Lately, I find myself playing a lot more games again on my iPad Mini. It’s not good because it’s very unhealthy, especially for my eyes and time management. Being obsessed with my games, reading the news, and watching YouTube or Netflix derails me on more important matters, like house chores or crafting my miniatures.
So at times, I have to put the iPad aside to focus on those things because I tend to forget the time amid a game challenge. I am distracted by the latest game downloaded recently. These things happen when free ads promoting new games appear amidst my regular ones.
Piqued, I would check them out, and the next thing I know, the game is downloaded. And before I know it, I am playing a new game. Sometimes, the interest would wane, but the appeal is quite lasting for this latest download, Brick Out.
I find myself playing it until the wee hours of the night. Even Gudetama, the Netflix series I am watching now, cannot hold my interest as much! I should detach myself from my games and be more disciplined in putting down my iPad Mini when it’s time to sleep.
Angieneering 
Remarks