Petits Filous in 1-24

here is the most challenging request i've had to date. a 1:24 scale dollhouse miniature of "Petits Filous" which is a popular yoghurt pot (i think?)...i've tried the other yoplait pots, they were a 'test' to see if i could tolerate yoghurt - mainly in taste and cos was really lactose intolerant back then...too much info? :P

  7mm x 5mm x 2mm diameter for the pots.

in case you were wondering, yes, i made the individual plastic pots using the vacuumform method i've mentioned a few times previously. had to form a 'tap and die' out of acrylic rod and spare acrylic piece i had lying around, then form pots using it, cut the pots, fill with resin, work on the graphics, print out the decals, and assemble. see the random empty pots in the background? those are the rejects, only 8 usable pots came out of 50+ pieces of wasted trial and errors. :(

which is why i am going to limit my commissioned items LOL. it's a lot of work over 3 days just to get it done. i hope my customer likes it. :)

========================================

 1:12 miniature strawberry St Honore

*sings* one of these pastries is not like the other....~~can you tell which? :P will be made available soon as i finish up some other odds and ends. :E

another 1:6 request i completed recently. they look so big here! :O had to make a new macaron shape for my customer as she prefers the rounder type, i personally prefer the flatter look, but in re-examining these photos, i think the ispahan does look cute ^ ^

now that i'm finishing up the commissions, i feel somewhat more relaxed and am excited to work on the ideas that have been brewing in my head the past 3 months! WATCH OUT WORLD RAWRRRRRRRRRRR

(oh and, please add me as friend if you play spicebandits, my game center ID is snowfernclover kthxbye~!)
P.S. it seems Google Friend Connect has retired:

http://support.google.com/friendconnect/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2440229

i've 'lost' all my 'members' (over 500 of you!) so if you would like to be updated when i post here, please 'join' again, i've set up the blogger version on the right ------>

thank you!

Miniature Rice Cakes, YUM!

had a very special request, and it seemed like a challenge, so i took it up....who knew it would nearly break me XD the hard part was all the graphic work....took me forever to clean it up and find suitable materials in making the packaging....i'm just relieved that i got it done and hope that my customer likes it!

these were quite yummy too :P but i think i preferred the caramel ones over the chocolate.....

dressed up the tins too. might re-list the old set with the graphics when i feel braver. right now i think; i need a break. *head throbs* it's lunch time anyhoos! but i want to get this posted so i can feel more relaxed for the weekend and enjoy it..

made this available on my neglected Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/listing/95472668/cup-of-tea-and-tea-bags-set-112-or-one
i hadn't wanted to post this until i was pretty sure some people got their sets first. though i might have ruined the surprise (maybe??) *blinks hard*

as well as this one: http://www.etsy.com/listing/95472465/danish-butter-cookies-and-cup-of-tea-set

ok~ off to grab some lunch! and then....ONLINE SHOPPING O.O (best of all it's not for myself haha)

More Commissioned items in 1:4

i've been working on more commissioned works. I think i'm quite burnt out at this point, so i'll just repost what i've put on my dA journal.

Retinal burn and feeling burnt out. been working on cleaning up some graphics for another commission, spent far far too many hours (DAYS!) on it only because i'm quite more than a little obsessive compulsive about un-noticeable stuff. Staring at the monitor at the same spot for hours is leaving me with retinal burns that take a while to clear (saw a huge white letter 'S' for a few mins after i looked away from the image last night LOL) 

decided to limit my commission slots. made that decision last month really, have been working on wholesale/commission/custom orders since December, trying to catch up what with my various illnesses and on top of that giving lessons is wearing me out. i have some measure of social anxiety, meeting new people wreaks havoc on my gut and brain. not to mention, i'm not able to get my own ideas out of my head. and i'm still not done with commissions, customers have been kept waiting for over a month, and that's raising my anxiety levels to an uncomfortable level.

so before i crash (again!) i think it's time to round things up and try and concentrate on my own ideas etc. i've decided to place less importance on the business aspect, it is clearly not for me. i'll just sell whatever i can, and hope for the best XD

hope to also catch up to comments and looking around dA again  take it easy everyone ^ ^
Cindy

for more pics and updates, you can also view my flickr and facebook page. :) don't worry, i'm ok, i'll still be here, but i want to pace myself a little better this time. half my head of hair (whatever little is left!) is grey already!!!!

Feature: Pepper of MitchyMooMiniatures

These are the works of the fantastic and totally awesome Pepper of MitchyMooMiniatures! i had followed her flickr stream like, aeons ago, and was so excited to find that she had started a blog last year (if i recall correctly? lemme check)

yep last year! imagine my surprise when i found out she also blogs extensively about her processes, and offers tutorials as well. i love DIY stuff, so i knew i'd fallen in love with her (:P) twice over. i started leaving my *ahem* sycophantic comments (augh, i can't help it, you know how when you get all fangirly over someone and just fawn over their works and no matter what you say you just wind up coming across as a brown-noser?! ok maybe you don't but i certainly couldn't help myself *insert painful laughter here*)

ok awkward moment over. i wanted to buy some of her work, but to my disappointment she was not selling her works!! :O after a span of months of me heavily hinting and suggesting a swap, she finally relented and LOOK WHAT I GOT OMG

this was the first piece i unwrapped. i let out a loud gasp and started gurgling random words while handing it over with shaky hands to my dad. his first words to me were, "you must work harder Ling" after i showed him what i had made for her. *more painful laughter* yes, i'm working on that!

she even thoughtfully provided 2 books for it :D

 it even opens! the swivel is so smooth, and even closes with a snug 'shnick'. ohh~~ and that lamp?!?! i can't seem to take a good photo of it, i will try again in daylight and not finagle with my stupid lights.... it has like little translucent flowers all over it, at different angles it looks like butterflies.... the lamp is both masculine and feminine at the same time (to me!) i <3 it so!

AND IT LIGHTS. *swoons*

k uhm. where was i.

so this was the piece that i originally thought i was swapping for, i got so excited over her agreeing to the swap that i totally forgot about all the other items after she posted up photos of this on her blog. so yes, i was really shocked to see the large package and multiple pieces. o.O and oh man, it's so hard to photograph this! every single moving part fits snugly and smoothly, orz orz orz i bow to her |337 skillz~! i cannot WAIT to start filling this up. *serious look*

see!??!? ahhhhh~~~ i don't even have a place to display these pieces *goes into panic mode again*

this coffee table really surprised me. the moment i unwrapped this, i knew what sort of sofa i wanted to make to go with it, even got the fabric for it, that's how inspirational her work is to me.
ALL WORKING PARTS AHHHHH

and another working light!!! Pepper even thoughtfully included the batteries required for these.....:) i have plans to use it as a showcase lamp in yet another one of my unfinished projects -_-" hee hee!

and though we had agreed on items we wanted for the swap, she added this at the last minute after i stupidly blurted out how much i coveted it when she showed this on her blog (i really should not surf my favourite blogs late at night/early morning, my brain-mouth-hand filter just doesn't exist then) and *sighs in exasperation?!?* i do love it soooo much but i feel so bad and embarrassed for even using the word 'covet' yea i don't even know what to say right now i'm feeling so mixed cos i'm glad i got it, but ashamed for how i got it :( THANK YOU PEPPER!!!!!

see. SEE!??!? see why i <3 it so much!??!? i really wish i had a proper setup or scene for all these beautiful items. i know i'll be using them over and over again though :P they're within easy reach all the time heh heh :P

ok aside from the schoolgirlish nature of the post so far, i must say these pieces are quite something to behold. they have a certain weight to them, and the smell of the woods (or varnish??) gets me all excited about using (i cannot say play!!! :P ) them, i keep imagining scenes i could place them in, daydreaming on the bus to and from work :P

please pay her blog a visit if you haven't already, this is just the tip of the iceberg, and my photos do not do her work justice.

MitchyMooMiniatures Blog: http://mitchymoominiatures.blogspot.com/
pinchofpepper's flickr stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/41648637@N07/

Thank you so much Carol. I will forever treasure these. :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) <---oi these weren't cut and pasted ok! :P

1:3 miniature subway sandwich and WIP photos, 1st of 3 posts today!

prepare yourself for 3 posts!!! :P i've got lots to catch up on, and am trying to make my posts chronological. Originally i'd wanted to make it all in 2 posts (one is a special feature ^ ^ ) but i think it'll get messier than my blog usually is..so...here goes!

this 1:3 miniature subway sandwich was a request i think around chinese new year? but my customer said there was no rush, and so i worked on some other requests first (re: previous posts) and although i got this done maybe 3 weeks ago(?) i never found the time to update.

the cookies that i made an even longer time back is part of the same request. :X

meanwhile, he added another item to the request, but i messed it up :( it's been a while since i made a 'fail' post eh??? that doesn't mean i haven't been mucking up, just means i haven't the time to dwell upon them XD so if you can't see it, it's the bleeding of the acrylic paints into the cream :( ah well. the real life stuff does 'bleed' too, but i'm just not satisfied and will have to give it another try. however, this again has been delayed another week cos i got myself another horrific sinus infection last week, and got myself another 7-day course of antibiotics -_-"""" on day 5 now, and it's clearing up well, i'm glad the antibs are still effective :P

i also haven't really been putting up WIPs, mainly because i haven't been working on any personal projects, but maybe you'd be keen on seeing some WIP photos i took for my customers. here are 1:24 jelly cups for a special request.

prototypes before i put on the labels 

yep i designed the labels myself! they took a while but eh, you already know i work slooowwwwwleeeeeeee...*blinks*
approx 3mm at widest. they could work as smallish 1:12 jelly cups too huh! for those who are curious, i made the cups using the vacuumform method i've mentioned before - here - actually built a new and sturdier box (version 3 o.O) but i forgot to take pics of it -_-"

gah.

which reminds me. the delay was mostly due to a wonky camera. it glitched while i was taking photos of swap items i received maybe 3 weeks ago?!?! which is coming up in the next post!!! but here is a photo of the new special effect my old camera is now ONLY capable of doing.

i panicked the whole of monday last week, i was trying to decide between getting a new camera (which i can ill afford, not even a cheapo one) and having the glitched one repaired. meanwhile, i called my brother to see if he had a spare camera he could loan me, and i made my way down to the Sony repair centre. oh man. the guy quoted me repair fees of $40, and additional charges for replacement parts. seeing as how it would cost me anywhere from $50-$150, i would have as easily gotten a NEW and BETTER camera for the price of the repair!!! i told my brother this and he told me to forget it, and that i could have his old camera :O :O :O
it's pretty awesome! it even has a "SUPER MACRO" mode XD but this also means i have been struggling to try and re-learn how to shoot with this one....yep, expect more whiny posts about my crappy photos....:X

(speaking of crappy photos, here's a coupla cute pics i took with my -old Nokia N95 phone- of Eva sleeping on her back, i seldom get a chance to take pics of her she gets all up in my face whenever i try...)
which leads us to....

MY NEW PHONE! not only did Ben lend me his old camera, he passed me his old iphone 3GS! hwa hwa hwa!! so apart from these mishaps, you now know why i've been MIA, those iphone apps are.....@ @ (come, play DrawSomething with me :P you can download the free version :D ) huhuhuhuuu~~! and of course i'm still playing triple town.....:)

armed with my 'new' camera, i took photos of the 1:24 tea box sets.....some of you might have seen pics of some of my above works on my deviantArt account, flickr or facebook page (please 'like' it if you haven't already! i update there sometimes if i don't have time to blog...)

ok this has dragged on a little long, time to get back to what i'd been meaning to photograph when the SONY DSC-S950 finally gave out. i miss it already but it has served me well the past almost-3 years!!

ON TO MY NEXT POST FOR TODAY