Miniature Life Lessons

 Good morning!  I'm sitting outside on a nice hot humid sunny day in Central Indiana.  As many of you know, I've decided to make Mod Pod Miniatures my part-time/when I feel like doing it gig.  Last fall, I withdrew from the Tom Bishop Show for 2025.  However, I kind of regretted it so a few months later I asked Tom to let me know if there was an opening.  Three weeks before the show I got an e-mail saying that he had an opening so, I decided to go ahead and do it and It was a blast!  I'm so happy that I did the show...lets face it...once you get hooked...you're hooked! So, I finished a couple of things and packed up what I had and went to the show. I was so happy to see so many of my regular customers and catch up.  Here are a few pictures from the show. 

I got the opportunity to finally meet Chelsea of Chelsea Makes. She is the sweetest person and gave me the cutest mini Caboodle makeup carrier.  It brought back some awesome memories of when I was a pre-teen and teenager because I had one of these as I'm sure many of us Gen Xers had.  Chelsea is an inspiration to me.  She's not only sweet and generous, she's a great business woman and sooo creative. 

Anyway, what I have learned being a full time miniaturist for the last two years is that being an artist is really a hard job.  If you think about it: we create the designs, buy the supplies, do the work which takes waaaaaaayyyyy longer than we think it will, market the items, sell the items, package the items and ship the items.  That is in reality the work of at least 4 people. I also learned that I have been making miniatures for all the wrong reasons...I started doing it for the money and for other people rather than for myself which honestly took a lot of the fun out of it.  I learned that being an artist is lonely and I am a pretty social person for the most part, I mean I am a Libra! Plus I had a hard time budgeting for the months where I didn't make any money (thank you, ADHD) and put a lot more money into it that I got out of it.  I've also learned that I have been underestimating the value of my work....For example, last fall I had a customer contact me and ask me to make her a mini Noguchi Free Form sofa and ottoman.  The funny thing is that I have been wanting and meaning to make one of these for years and just had not done it.  I've had it sketched out for years, so this was a great motivator to actually make one.  She also requested a Platner styled end table. I gave her a quote of $255 for the sofa and ottoman and $55 for the end table. Thinking that was a reasonable request...well once she received that little sofa and table, she was ecstatic.  

We talked on the phone for awhile about mid-century design and designers and she sent me payment for the items...what she sent me was $750 for the sofa and ottoman and $75 for the end table.  What?!?! Seriously?!?! I've also been told by many of my repeat customers that I don't charge enough for my work.....Not only have I been underestimating my work....this has been a problem my entire life not just with miniatures...I've been underestimating my own self worth as long as I can remember.  How fucked up is that?  This last 2 years has taught me so many things and I have been through so many changes that it truly blows my mind!  I'm very glad that I tried doing miniatures as a full time gig...I would have regretted it if I didn't give it a shot.

In January, I started a new full time job at Crate and Barrel as a designer.  Interior design has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid.  When I was little, my dad made me a basic dollhouse.  It had 5 rooms and I would decorate and redecorate it continually.  I would do chores around the house and save my money to buy wrapping paper at the drugstore to wallpaper the rooms. My mom would take me to the local Ben Franklin Store or Frank's Nursery and Crafts to buy miniatures for the house.  I would make furniture out of jewelry boxes.  I never used dolls in the house...just decorated it over and over.  When I was in College, my major was Fashion Merchandising but I fell in love with Interior Design.  I took a couple of years of Interior Design classes and really wanted to change my major to Interior Design, but that would have meant another year of school and I was too afraid that my dad would be mad because that meant more money. Seriously...this is where my mind has been my entire life!!! 🤪My entire life, I have been afraid to take up space or to ask for anything.  I have always just done what I thought other people wanted me to do.  As an adult, I asked for a dollhouse because the real house I lived in was basically finished and I needed to be able to decorate something. I got into miniatures because of interior design. Now, I am a designer! Granted, I don't get to do the construction bit of it which is kind of a bummer....and most of it is well....beige, but I get to help people make their homes a more pleasant, organized and beautiful space.  You don't know how happy it makes my when my customers come back and ask for me by name or send me pictures of their space because they are proud.

So, for these reasons and because I will only be doing miniatures when I feel like it and they will not be available on a regular basis,  I will be increasing the prices of my miniatures by a lot. I put a lot of time, thought and creativity into my work and for the first time in my life, I am learning my own worth and the worth of my talent and work.

The Next Chapter

Well here it goes. This is a decision that I've been toying with for a long time. I'm very sad to say that I am getting out of miniatures as a business and turning it back into it a hobby again.

Those close to me know that I've been healing from some pretty gnarly stuff over the last few years.  A huge part of that healing has taken a lot of spiritual work, meditation, Reiki and looking into the shadows of who I am and who I've always thought of myself to be. The change has made me realize what I want and don't want in my life and what I am willing to do.

Being involved in the world of miniatures has been one of the many the survival mechanisms that have helped get me through life over the last several years. It's put me in contact with some of the best friends that I could possibly ask for and taught me many new skills. I'm so grateful to everyone who has supported me in my miniature journey.  This warms and breaks my heart at the same time.

Miniatures and being in the miniature business has helped me realize a lot of things about myself like:

I'm just not motivated to work for myself, I'm a total people pleaser.  

I really don't like 3-D printing with resin because of the fumes. The machines are pretty finicky plus I'm allergic to the resin. I get a terrible rash up and down my arms when I work with it. 

It's really lonely working by yourself every day. It makes it so you're in your head all day long...WAAAAAAY too much time to think.  I'm an introvert, but I'm also a libra which means that I have to have connection to the outside world and people.

The Miniature business is definitely makes you hustle!

I'm ADHD which means I need structure and routine...I don't like it...but I need it.

I don't give up easily.

It made me challenge myself and my design skills.

I know that I CAN make miniatures my business, but I don't really want to.

Even small things can take over your life and your house.🙃

So what does a woman in her 50's who is starting over and never followed her dream do? Take the path not taken before.

When I was in college, I wanted to change my major from Fashion Merchandising to Interior Design, but I didn't.  I wanted to go back to school to get the credentials and licensing later, but I decided not to. I've regretted it ever since.

Back in the day, when I sold home dec textiles, I got into miniatures because my house at the time was basically finished and I wanted something to decorate. What I love about making miniature furniture and accessories is the design process and staging the scenes. 

I also love to paint. I miss painting murals for kids rooms.  It's really heart warming to see a kid's face light up when they walk into they're own little fantasy room.

So, I guess my dream job would be a Spiritual-Interior Designer-Painter My hope is to at the very least get pretty close to that and be able to make a good living at it.

I will be taking some time to finish decorating my own house and finishing up some miniature pieces that I already have started.  Over the next several weeks, as I learn new skills and take some classes, I will be posting them for auction on Ebay. I will also be paring down and selling some of my personal miniature collection and lots of supplies.  The best way you can support me on this endeavor to follow my dream is to please bid on my miniatures! 😁

Wish me luck😉

Synchronicities and Starting Over

Well...it's been a long time since I 've blogged let alone blogged on this platform.  Anyway, To update you on my miniature journey, I quit my full time job to be a miniaturist.  I'm terrified to do this, but they say nothing worthwhile is easy.  I originally quit my job to do this back in 2020..  I was just getting going and seeing progress on my sales then I decided to divorce my husband of 24 years. So, lets just say that life got in the way, I got a full time job, moved, and became an empty nester.  What a bunch of life changes all at once, am I right?

Anyway, I'm finally feeling somewhat settled in my "new" life.  It's like I'm 25 again and starting life over, but with a lot more wisdom. I bought a mid-century ranch home on my own, been doing a shit ton of healing from the marriage and life in general, got diagnosed with ADHD (yet another healing story).  My real life house has this really cool 2-sided fireplace, lots of windows and a big yard (which I'm actually not a fan of-more on that in another post).  I also quit my job again over a year ago to be an artist/miniaturist.  I have no idea what I'm doing, I've been pretty unmotivated to work for myself, but I also know that nothing comes easy and I feel like I'm getting signs from the Universe that things will be OK.  One of those signs is that back in January, I got a random email from Redfin Magazine asking for my input on Mid-century Modern decorating.  Here is the link to the article.  Mine is #24. I was thrilled and surprised to have this opportunity. Then in February, I got an opportunity to show my miniatures at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. They were doing a celebration of Colleen Moore's fairy castle.  I still haven't seen the castle in person, though.  I hear it's spectacular. I'm taking these as signs from the universe that I am where I am supposed to be.  There's a whole lot more about signs and  synchronicities, but I don't want to get all woo woo on you.🤣 Here's the thing...I'm broke, but I haven't been this happy in years.  There are days where I feel stuck, want to drop it all and go get a real full time job.  I even updated my resume.  But for some reason, I just can't give up on this dream...at least not yet.   

Brick Issues

In a nutshell, I'm really unhappy with the bricks on the Mid-Century Modern build.  

Since this is a four sided building, each end of the house will slide up so that you can see the inside. As you can see, the bricks are just not working with the transition from wall to base.  Not to mention that the bricks simply look like crap.  You can see where the bricks are made from each carton.  There isn't enough texture change.  I should have just laid them one by one and mixed it up.

So I tried painting the brick...You can still see the bad texture and it also started to bubble.  I must not have had those spots glued down well.

You can see the transition between the wall and the base is worse on this end.

So as I see it my options are: Peel it all off and place the bricks one by one, Peel it all off and make it limestone like the Atomic Bungalow or peel it all off and make it stucco.  I don't think I like the idea of the stucco though because that doesn't seem very Mid-Century modern to me.

The good news is that I'm almost done with the front door and I'm pretty pleased with how it's turning out.

Any input or suggestions on my brick problem would be greatly appreciated!

Mid Mod Brickwork

 I was going to do stone work like on my last mid-mod build but I didn't want to be a one trick pony and do the same thing.  I also didn't want to do regular bricks. Then I remembered a real life mid-century modern home tour that I went to a few years ago and my favorite house had ivory straight stacked brickwork. So I decided to make longer straight stacked bricks. 

I painted egg carton lids and ivory color that I got at Home Depot then cut the bricks with the laser so that they would be consistent.  Then I decided that was a crap ton of bricks to glue on individually and would take seemingly forever to get them evenly spaced and straight both vertically and horizontally.  

 I still cut them with a laser, but didn't go all the way through so they would stay in tact and easier to keep straight. The bricks look a little dirty from the edges being singed by the laser, but hopefully I will be ably to touch them up with paint later....then I ran out of egg cartons.  The front facade took about 13 cartons to cover. I thought I was going to have to eat a lot of eggs.

Then I tried my home made stone trick but it turned out either too thick and lumpy or too thin, plus when you paint it the paper absorbs the water and gets wavy.  You can't cut uneven surfaces on a laser cutter.

 Ebay to the rescue!  I remember reading something about how you can sell things like crayons and egg cartons on Ebay so I thought I'd take a look.  Apparently you can get anything on Ebay.  I bought 25 cartons with flat lids for $15.00. I'm just waiting for them to arrive.

Craftsman Cabin Turned Mid-Century Modern Ranch

Ever since I sold the Mid-Century Bungalow a few years ago. I've wanted to do  another Mid-century modern build.  Here's what the MCM Bungalow looked like:

As you can see it's similar to the HBS Craftsman Cabin which is this year's Creatin' Contest kit.

I finally decided to start the build even though I have three unfinished projects that I'm "working" on. I haven't decided if I will enter the contest this year.  I guess it depends in whether or not I actually finish it.

 I've made quite a few changes to the kit.  First I closed up the front door, picture window and the window on the back side.  I also cut two new doorways and all new windows.  

 I moved the front door to the other side and put an addition on the left to make a bedroom and bathroom. I also made a triangular window much like the MCM Bungalow.

 It will have a sunken living room.  I cut a square in the floor and put one inch supports under the area where I cut.  Since the kit has a raised floor this worked out perfectly.

 I used 1/4" fiberboard for the addition because I can't find 3/8" anywhere.  The windows are a little deeper than the walls so I will cut some mat board to thicken the walls a bit.

 The angled roof line will be extended to make a car port a lot like this one.

I really wanted to use these mini concrete breezeblocks from Mini Materials for the realism, but I think they will mage it a little too heavy and I would need A LOT of them.  I will just do my best to make them with the laser cutter. Wish me luck!

#HBSCREATINCONTEST2017

Tiny Tea Light Tutorial

On Friday I was doing a bit of cleaning and when I emptied my husbands trash can in his man cave and found these little metal pieces that looked just like the foil holder for tea light candles. So of course I went digging through the trash to find more.

These are small pistol bullet primers that he uses to make bullets.  These are the ones that have been used.  I can't stress enough that if you want to use the same things to make tea lights...make sure they are used.  Other wise you could get seriously injured.

Any way I used a pick and removed the little anvils that are inside of them.

Which leaves the primer cup.

We then used polymer clay to fill the cups, 

 and used a little bit of mono-filament fishing line for the wicks.

I baked them in the oven then trimmed down the wicks and...

Voila!