Friday, December 30, 2011

Miniature Danish Butter Cookies in 1/12 scale

I'm rushing off to meet Asuka and Sans for a year end celebration. So much to celebrate about! ^ ^ so this will be a quick one. I've listed just 2 sets since they took a long time to make. so fiddly, each 1:12 danish butter cookie is only about 3-4mm wide, i'm possibly -too- fussy about scale? heh.



more pics, and you can find more pics and measurements, or purchase them here on my Etsy:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/snowfern?section_id=6330860

;)

Although I didn't manage to make the 300 mark, it's been really nice to discover myself featured on quite a number of sites over the Christmas period! I kept blushing at the nice things that were said about my work, and yea, omg, i seem to be obsessive over cookies yuh!??!? I hadn't realized! guess that's what happens when i just want to be really good at something, do it over, and over, and OVER AGAIN.

and yet, i feel like there's more to be learnt and done!

So what are these sites? i don't know if they are blog aggregators or whatever, I have no idea who submitted my work in, but i'm so thankful, so whomever did this, THANK YOU! :D

It all started here-
http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2011/12/24/miniature-cookies/
http://holykaw.alltop.com/miniature-christmas-cookies
http://todokawaii.com/galletas-miniatura/
http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/miniature-cookies

really cheered me up, apart from a very funny and cute Christmas card i got from Dale. so ending this year with 2 other good friends (well almost, will spend eve with bf and family if this head cold doesn't get worse, sinus headaches are *@#&($*#&@#), is keeping this smile on my face (despite the thumping headache haha!)

i wanted to list more gummy bears (new packaging!) and larger scaled items, but i'm going to be late for the dinner...and since i'm taking a short holiday before the new year starts EXCITING OMG starting the year with giving a lesson on Tuesday, YAY! and commissions lined up....it's indeed a nice change from the last few months :P

so. preview of what will be available in 2012, both in 1:3 and 1:12 (though pics for the 1:12 aren't taken yet, camera battery went flat GAHHH)



(lol my cousin got me a cute little Christmas gift, a 1:3 Macbook Air HEEE it's actually a pocket mirror)

1:3 cookies and sweets and chocolates and more! :D

email me at snowfern at gmail dot com if you wish to reserve some of these 1:3 goodies, though most of it will be made-to-order :)

oh oh, and that CNY preview? these are the only photos i have until the camera battery comes back to life...-_-"


for Singaporeans, this should be pretty easy to guess what i have been making ;) in 1:3 and 1:6 only though, too difficult to do a 1:12 XD will talk more about this in 2012 ;)

AND I'm not done yet! bf has been working hard on his site, and just for fun, he's been making a calendar, you can download January 2012 from here:

http://thespaceronin.deviantart.com/

i like it, not just cos i'm biased, it's my desktop wallpaper now. ^_^ I'm ready for 2012, ARE YOU??

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

(haha this post is such a contrast to the last depressing one eh? XD )

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

2011 moments

I had been wondering if it's possible to make it to 300 sales before 2012 (at 267 as I write this)....it seems unreachable but wouldn't it be nice XD I've added quite a number of things to my Etsy, and am holding a Coupon Code sale to celebrate the end of a pretty interesting year.


Just enter 300FOR2011 to get 10% off the listing price.





You can view these and more photos at my Etsy store :D







Aside from miniature foods, I've decided to take better photos of my food jewellery.....and they can be found here:



some old, some new!

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Personal stuff here :)

I don't think this will be my last post for 2011, have a few more things to update yet, but I've been feeling so emotional lately I just had to share. just last week I wondered aloud on facebook whether it'd be possible for me to hit 300 sales before the end of the year, and almost immediately after, be it coincidental or otherwise (i like to think otherwise, makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside *purr* ) i had a number of sales to familiar facebook acquaintances. I hardly interact with that many people on any regular basis aside from a few e-mails, as i'm painfully introverted (it doesn't show from the way i write, right?? but i am :( ) and socially awkward, so this show of support brought me very close to tears. heck my eyes are watering up as i re-collect that morning. 

i've even considered creating a separate blog to try and sort my head out over these personal things. but this -is- a personal blog. my little experiments and experiences with miniatures is what has helped me through very difficult times, especially my anxiety attacks and bleak emotional lows, which i suffer from pretty frequently (i try hard not to write about it though, how depressing! but i'm sure it shows sometimes :S esp the grouchy tetchy posts haha). 

it has been a really rough year for me, as i seriously considered whether i should push this hobby of mine forward into a sustainable form of income. i try to make light of it by saying stuff like "it's a good month i can buy dog food for Eva" (sad, but true)...but having had no form of stable income since 2008 (or longer, really. yea i've been jobless for -that- long, recuperating from various illnesses, chronic depression and whatnot) it has felt like an insurmountable task. I tried to distract myself with personal projects when sales and commissions were slow, as i mulled over numbers and sales predictions and SEOs and marketing and workshops etc. maaan, the 'serious stuff' made me nearly depressed all over again -_-" but making miniatures was actually what helped wean me off anti-depressants! so i was determined to try and give this a good go.

so in rounding up 2011, i want to remember the highs more than the lows. this requires a good look through my archive, let's see....(i don't even REMEMBER half the stuff that happened sheesh, that's why i journal so extensively!)

- TDA 2011 was AWESOME FUN. which reminds me, wonder when's the next one???
- Library workshop was AWESOME STRESSFUL FUN. but i'll have to seriously consider having to teach so many people at one shot again. 
- Moved all my mini stuff to bf's office was thrilling. and anxiety ridden.
- picked up Inkscape. i think this was my fave 'new skill' of all. feel so disinhibited!
- I'm a Giant challenge!! omg how fun was that?! and it's still going on! XD
- getting on dA's front page, was shocking and flattering
- getting on Etsy's front page, was a little stunned, but meh cos no sales came from it XD

of course there are other things, like catching up with friends, making new friendships and reviving old ones. it's always the hardest for me to talk about personal relationships, why is that so?

probably cos stuff that matters -most- to me is the hardest to put into words. i guess. plus no pictures la ;)

so anyway. i'm really grateful for all the good stuff that's happened this year. *chokes up again*

*sheepish*
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another egg. i might re-do the 2 eggs my customer ordered if she prefers to have them more similar, i find it hard to replicate colours if i don't work in batches :( but i like the newer (the smaller yolk) one, so in future i'll try and make them more 'wrinkly' hehehe.


 These butter cookies were my fave to make :D i had some packaging prepared but never got round to making the cookies to go with it, so this was a good experience!



some more pics of the chocolate cookie, and some chocolate chip drizzled ones.


these drizzled cookies are extras that I made, plan to turn some of them into rings or necklaces. These are approx 2.1 cm, while the customer requested ones are approx 2cm diameter :)


But if you prefer them in smaller scale, this 1:12 miniature chocolate chip cookie set is now available here :)

there's a lot more photos i haven't put up yet, i hadn't realised how much i have to update about....but it's lunchtime! how prepared are you for the holidays huh? huh? huh?

Friday, December 16, 2011

I'm a Giant Challenge - EXTENDED! - PARTIAL Reveal

TA-DAH!!!!!!!


ok i know it's a little disappointing as it's incomplete :( I wanted to print out some 'posters' and put in more decorative stuff, but I ran out of time T-T
for those who aren't familiar with this project, you can see how I got started, and my progress, here:

http://snowfern-clover.blogspot.com/p/challenge.html

It is in 1:24 aka half inch scale. half the size of the usual dollhouse scale!








let me take you on a tour. it'll be a short one, considering how little I have to show you T-T
(NO PUN INTENDED)




you can see from the outside, little danishes and donuts.....all asking to be picked first!


the metal pie tins were supposed to act as little trays so you  can pick the items you'd like, but yea, there are no tongs T-T

:P


my order for more 1:24 trays hadn't arrived yet, these were the only almost-to-scale plates i had (chrysnbon!) ...it would work better if i had some designy arty farty thing to tie it all together. and maybe a little height variation. :S
gaaahhh


some cupcakes and mango cake slices..... the strawberry items on the right are old works that are cringeworthy XD i'll swap them out when i make more 1:24 items :D
 wee macaron towers! ^ ^ a little christmassy hee hee

i'm quite happy with this counter, it's almost exactly how i envisioned it to be used ('cept maybe more  range of items :( )
it'll do for now.
my only 'designy' thing? does it qualify?
had so many grand plans for this, alas, took too long to make it. 2 hrs to design it, another 2 hrs for execution, toldya i work slow :( 

here's my process:

i originally thought a google image search for similar tables would make my job easier, but i had no idea what search terms to use (permutations of modern, metal, fancy, table legs, IKEA didn't turn up much T-T) so i took inspiration from victorian table legs, drew an outline using inkscape, printed it onto the back of a metal sticker sheet (from Daiso!) and cut it out, then sticking it onto a piece of mounting board which acted as a table top....then covering it with another rectangular piece of metal sheet. it's not perfect, i think it could do with a re-do.... , but i think it's not-too-shabby for something i came up with from scratch! just don't look too closely XD

i added a piece of PVC sheet (1-1.5mm thick can't recall) cos i wanted to have at least 1 table with a glass top on it. i hope to put some posters or flyers/promotions under the 'glass' that can act as decorations.  

oooo i like this shot.
the inspiration came from a stainless steel IKEA table i saw a long time ago and want for my real life home.... made it slightly larger so that it could possibly double up (HURHUR) as a 1:12 coffee table or summat.

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ok so that's about it for the 'vanity shots'. here're some behind-the-scene shots....






 it's supposed to be a sliding door, but i ran out of styrene channels, will pick more up when i have time.
 need to wipe down the windows XD the 3 'glass' panels are 1.5mm acrylic sheets that are removeable so i can display stuff with ease. i built slots into the ceiling and used styrene channels to hold the pieces in place.


i've posted before about how i bashed some IKEA Billy Bookcase lights to use as lighting. was meaning to hide them in the roof, even cut out the pieces but ah well, you know me and time.....:S



if i had to pick my favourite items out of this challenge so far, it'd be these two. the macaron display counter, because it was my first 'complicated' piece of furniture made, and the table, cos i designed it from scratch, better yet, how well it turned out! *huge pats on my own back* IT'S NOT EVEN METAL LOL it's plastic stickers that SIMULATE metal!!! *snurk snurk snurk* 
-insert troll face smug look comic here-

well i hope to some day replicate it in stainless steel proper, yes, i like it -that- much. will make one in 1:12 once i figure out how to make it sturdier and neater.



used the wrong WB mode on my camera, hurhur. they're really small! forgot to take measurements...i had difficulty taking photos with and without the roof on....accidentally flipped some plates a coupla times, which is a scary thing since the pastries are approx 0.3cm to 0.6 cm wide!??!





i put a 1:12 cupcake next to the 1:24 for comparison (the cake behind is another WIP, my whole work table is littered with them.....-_-")


Thus concludes the I'm a Giant challenge!

of course i'm more than a little disappointed that i didn't complete it, not that it would be possible. just like me, this will be a constant WIP forever. XD there's a lot more that needs to be done, like the addition of a kitchen, maybe a 2nd floor, the roof.... I learnt alot about composition, drafting layouts, building a roombox with minimal resources and of course, that I CAN FRICKING DO THIS. Thank you Emily! it has been fun, and immensely inspirational. not only that, it's been quite amazing, following the progress of bloggers and flickr friends who have played along with me. Stephanie (Asuka), Stephanie (Petitplat) and I have been constantly egging each other on for this challenge too, that added a friendly competitive element to it (OMG PRESSURE AND JEALOUSY THEIR WORKS ARE AWESOME).....i even made a new blog friend out of this, i not only admire onshore's  japanese tea house, her blog has many wonderful pictures and posts....the kind of stuff i'd like in my real life!!! call-small has been my constant source of envy and inspiration....the Rad Pad is RAD indeed!
(dangit it appears some of the comments i left on their blogs last night have disappeared :( agrgghgh)



 there's numerous other participants, you can view some of them here:


i'm going to try and surf every single link in that post tmrw at the office XD


there is a huuuge sense of relief that this is now over. i can now concentrate on what i've been doing on weekdays (i kept most of this challenge work to weekends and a few stolen minutes every morning).....to end this on a happy note, i've been told by a coupla people that my entry for the minitreasures advent calendar made it to the front page of dA? i don't even understand that, but ...YAY!


YAYYYY!!! ok g'nite everyone!!! please link me your blog if you've participated too, i'd love to see!!!

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UPDATE: i just read over on Emily's site (the one who started this madness XD ) that the challenge has been extended! she's deciding on a new date, and is suggesting Feb 1st. sounds good to me, any extension will be GREAT HURHURHURHUR

*hopeful again!!!*