Initial drawings of the tattoo parlor

Each time I start a new project, one of the first things I do is to draw what I have in mind for the final project. This allows me to better focus on what needs to be done and I can decide from the start on what materials I will need. The easiest way to do this for me is to take the initial picture of the kit I'm going to work on and then to draw the basic outline in Inkscape on top of the picture. Once I'm done, I delete the original picture so that the outline remains. If I'm not going to use a kit, then I directly draw the project according to the measurements I chose.

At this point I'm ready to go. I often surf trough the web to get some ideas, such as what kind of door to create, or what the windows should look like and I collect all these little ideas by drawing them directly into the basic outline. I change the outline as needed while I draw. For this project, I decided not to change the kit much. I'm just going to add some pieces on the outside and merge the windows on the left side to allow a better view into the shop:

This is where you can be really creative, below is what I came up with. It's not yet there but it allows me to see what steps to take next. Generally, once I start working on the kit some of the initial ideas get replaced with others, but at least, this allows you a quick start.

 

Once I receive the kit (not yet in stock for international orders), I will also have a similar approach for the interior of the tattoo parlor. I will draw the ground 1:1 on a sheet so that I can decide about where to put which furniture. But more on that on another post. 

In the meantime, I received some awesome news and I can finally share it! My 2017 Creatin' Contest entry the "Writer's Retreat" has won an Honorable Mention! YAAAY! To be honest, this year, I was not expecting to win anything, as I was not 100% happy with my project. I wanted to do much more and did not have the time for it - this is also another reason why this year I will not change the new kit much; "more detail than size" is my motto this time. Nevertheless I'm extremely happy for the recognition and this is a great motivation to keep doing what I love the most. 

A Writer's Retreat - 1:12

Although only the honorable mentions are announced yet, it looks like a lot of great projects have been submitted again this year and I can't wait to see all the other entries! You can find them here.

Have a great weekend!

Hugs,

Susi

Almost Christmas! My Creatin' Contest 2017 Entry

It's that time of the year again where we get ready for new year's resolutions. From what I experienced in the last year, it's now official that:
- I do work too much
- I need more time for miniatures
- I need to catch up with blogs

So in 2018, I'll work towards that. Nevertheless, using every single free moment since May - with lots of patience from my husband's side - I was able to finish my latest miniature project and could send in the Creatin' Contest entry pictures on time! Woot woot!

I can't wait to see all the stunning projects that people have sent in. Here are some pictures from my entry: "A Writer's Retreat"...

In this living room lives a writer, who loves to write thrillers. She has decorated her house influenced by Moroccan architecture. She loves reading and has a wast collection of books. She spends hours getting lost in a new exciting story with a glass of red wine. Unfortunately she smokes also a lot, but at least there are big windows. (Ilona, your gorgeous Magnolias gave this scene the perfect touch, thanks!)

Wishing good luck to all entrants and have a great weekend!
Hugs,
Susi

2015 HBS Creatin Contest Results

I've been working very hard in the last couple of days/weeks even though I thought that there was going to be less work to do in January and maybe more time to work on some miniatures. So after many busy days without miniatures, I finally found yesterday evening some time to check some blogs and websites to see what's new, including the miniatures.com website, having in mind to buy the new contest kit for 2016 and curious about the HBS Contest Results. It was a huge surprise seeing this on their start-page:

There it was, the record shop... I can't tell how proud and thankful I am that the jury thought that my project deserved a first time entrant prize. This means so much to me, not only because this was my biggest project until today, but also because it was the first contest I ever participated in. I spent so much time on this project and I love every bit of it, seeing that others appreciate my work as well is so fulfilling. Thank you so much for that, and again for all of your kind comments on my previous posts.

Having received these great news, I was of course unable to sleep the entire night jumping around excited like a dog with two tails. It has been a hard day at work today as a consequence, having slept only 3 hours last night. To calm down a little, I started to put together some ideas for my next project and can't seem to decide what I will go for. I think I need some extra time to decide what topic to choose next, knowing that it will probably take another year to finish.

Until then, I wanted to share some pictures with you of recent items I bought/made:

I created some little cakes for Valentine's Day to test the frosting I have bought recently and it seems to work fine. I made some extra roses for the cakes and tried multiple versions until I chose to go with this design.

I bought some kitchen accessories from ELF Miniatures that I might use in my next project. I also bought a Miele Fridge, an ELF undercounter steel fridge freezer kit and an ELF modular hob kit which will allow me to design the kitchen counter the way I want it to look.

I'll be posting more in the coming weeks if I find some more time, until then have a wonderful day :)

Susi

1 more day to go...

I don't know how other participants of this year's HBS Creatin' Contest are staying patient until the deadline, but I really can't wait anymore to see all the creative projects that are waiting to be discovered. I've been seriously investigating on the internet for the last couple of days to see if I can find any updates from participants, but could see only limited posts and pictures.

There is one project though that is absolutely stunning and I just have to mention it... of course I'm talking about Mitchy Moo Miniature's build. I'm just flabbergasted by Pepper's talent and can't get enough of looking at the pictures she posted on her blog. I think she's not taking part at the contest though, as I remember having read that the kit was gifted to her, yet for me she already won this year's contest.

To increase the suspense, I decided to post some pictures as well :) Yes, that's evil, I know. So all started with the base of the kit... That's been so long ago already, I think I started around April.

Then I made a LOT of drawings, calculations and material planning until I knew approximately how I would proceed with the special furniture. Some parts were too special so I had to create them digitally and order laser cut versions. Slowly decoration pieces came together as well. Many are made by myself, but I had to include a few others as well, such as the open bag of chips from LugartPetit.

The dog was Lazy as usual. Even when I was doing the brick wall, placing one brick after the other for hours, he did not move. At that point I was puzzled about how best to remove the excess of mortar as it was my first brick wall, but I figured very quickly that it's actually pretty easy with a damp cloth and a brush once all dried.

 

It was also pretty messy at the beginning, especially the space it took was more than I had expected. Then I started with the wiring of the house and had a pretty clear idea how to continue... So this was a little sneak-peek to my entry but more will come as soon as the deadline is over.

Looking back now I can't believe how much fun this has been for me since the beginning, this also being my first entry to a miniature contest ever. I wish everybody good luck with their project and think that it was worth participating even just for the fun of it.