Having a kid around really cuts into creative time. Well, at least an infant does. For de-stressing time I've been staying up late working on more miniatures. In the past I've completed a front facing room, a dual sided room, a scene under a dome, a more intricate room, and now the smallest I've ever done - scenes in a mints tin.

I like that these are portable and light up.

I won't work mostly in tweezers with miniatures EVER again.

Without further ado, here is the series I just completed over the last month or so!

Here's the construction process:

Here's this one's construction process: 

And the last one going together: ( I had streamlined the process a bit by here.)

The three together look pretty cute, and I plan on displaying them somewhere other than my basement, lol. Of course I'm working on another miniature, but I also have summer plans for pirate outfits, a specialized plushie, and yet another baby renaissance outfit. ;)

My obsession with miniatures is no secret. After completing a large dollhouse that won grand champion at the county fair and is now on permanent display at my library, I discovered Japanese kits for room arrangements. These kits are usually around 1/24th scale and everything is glued down as you go. Still, it does scratch the creative itch and a manageable price and scope of project.

I try to document each one as I create it. Problem is, one slipped through the cracks, so to speak. Amazon had shown me a lightning deal on a wishlist dollhouse item and I didn't take advantage of the sale. :( That got me thinking: what kits did I have waiting for me?

When I checked my storage closet I found a kit that I remember really wanting, but I don't remember purchasing. Even worse: it was already assembled. Sigh. I must have been doing some stress crafting. The kit was purchased nearly two years ago, and probably assembled shortly after. It would have been at a time BC (Before Child) and when Ryan was gone most of the summer on trips for work.

Without further ado, here is the kit all assembled:

And here are a few more detail views for the curious. The outside corners aren't decorated, so I'm not uploading pictures of blank craft wood.

As of January of this year, I hadn't done a dollhouse, or really anything in miniature, and the itch was getting pretty bad. However, Renaissance Fest clothing projects were taking good chunks of my time and craft room space, not to mention crafting/sewing budget!

I had completed this kit previously, and it was addictive. With a wedding shower/bachelorette party coming up later in October, I had my excuse to do another! I even had a music box for this kit, as my previous attempt at ordering the "upgrade" for my other kit resulted in two other music boxes in perfect working order that now needed a miniature to go around it. ;)

The box arrived a little beat up, but the contents weren't damaged, so it was a go ahead with no pre-repairs!

Something minor was lost in translation, which I found humorous.  This series is by Cuteroom and is called "Tagether Around" with this particular model called "LOVE IS PERMANENT." And yes, the misspelling of "together" and the command in all caps that love is "PERMANENT" is what was printed on the instructions.  A dubious beginning!

However (and to my great relief) these instructions had been translated into English already, so I was able to conserve materials along the way and use the patterns for cutting out the fabric and paper components instead of wasting materials in trial and error. 

The instructions have the builder start with the sweets on the table (well, actually the table itself) which is probably a good thing since those little pieces can drive a person batty. I mean, they are teeny tiny!

Now on to what i had been looking forward to putting together: the dress, with lights installed underneath. (I had to test it out once!) If I had access to more supplies I would have styled the dress a bit differently, but overall the gold, silver, bows, lace, tulle, etc., etc., etc. work all together in a busy jumbled mess. I did end up making the bodice slightly more modest by lining it instead of letting the black dress form peek through the piece of lace.

Above are the dress, table, and lantern in place to gauge overall fit before I glue things down.

One of the elements was a board with blank spaces to fill in the names and dates for that special day.  This was my best attempt with my best pen - this thing is itty bitty in real life!

And of course since it's over the top in design anyway, the whole thing just screams out that it needs an arch covered in pink puffy organza.  Of course.  (And it's lighted underneath!)

Somehow I managed to squeeze everything on the stand.  There are holes in the black plastic base for the wires to go through.  And you can see the extra plate of candies I included on the "grass" in back, made out of scraps from the other details. You can also see my hand in the picture, which should give an idea of exactly how small this thing really is!

Lit up it is really quite beautiful. 

The switch for the lights and the key for the music box are on the bottom.  However, a few months after I completed the kit I was showing it to my dad, and the music box refused to work! After prying the plastic pieces of the base apart I discovered the inexpensive "electrical tape" holding all the wires back away from the music box gears was not holding up. I replaced it with the real stuff, and now it's just a waiting game until the bridal shower in October! I plan on this being on a cake or cupcake stand at the top, with fancy tea party decorations all around.