Monday, December 31, 2012

Day 5: 5 year BlogOversary Giveway

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! All good things must come to an end, NOT THE BLOG, JUST THE GIVEAWAYS! :P

For the last day of the 5 day giveaway spree, I bring you this beauty...

Day 5 Giveaway: 1 modern Stag Head (made by Dotsan, you can go buy one here for under $14 or read more about it here).

You can follow this blog on blogger, by feed or by email, but to be entered in the contest you must leave a comment on this post by midnight PST on Saturday, January 5th. I'll announce winners on Sunday, January 6, 2013.

Make sure you leave a comment on this post and on the other BlogOversary Giveaway posts to be entered in all five free giveaways.

Happiest of New Years wishes to each and every one of you!!!

Comments now closed, announcing winners soon.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Day 4: 5 year BlogOversary Giveway

Still partying for my 5 year anniversary with a free giveaway a day for 5 days to wrap up 2012.

You can follow this blog on blogger, by feed or by email, but to be entered in the contest you must leave a comment on this post by midnight PST on Saturday, January 5th. I'll announce winners on Sunday, January 6, 2013.

Day 4 Giveaway: 1 modern Condolisa inspired side table (made by me and will be for sale in my shop opening in late Jan or Feb 2013).

I was so depressed that I could not find nor buy the original Condolisa Side Table designed by Teddy Luong and Dennis Cheng, that I decided to make a miniature version inspired by it.

Make sure you leave a comment on this post and on the other BlogOversary Giveaway posts to be entered in all five giveaways.

Comments now closed, announcing winners soon.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Day 3: 5 year BlogOversary Giveway

My 5 year anniversary party continues with a free giveaway a day for 5 days to wrap up 2012.

You can follow this blog on blogger, by feed or by email, but to be entered in the contest you must leave a comment on this post by midnight PST on Saturday, January 5th. I'll announce winners on Sunday, January 6, 2013.

Day 3 Giveaway: 1 modern Alvar Aalto inspired vase (I think in blue, but I have to see what colors I have left that didn't get packed up for swaps).

Make sure you leave a comment on this post and on the other BlogOversary Giveaway posts to be entered in all five giveaways.

Comments now closed, announcing winners soon.

Friday, December 28, 2012

Day 2: 5 year BlogOversary Giveway

Continuing to celebrate my 5 year anniversary I'm doing a free giveaway a day for 5 days to wrap up 2012.

You can follow this blog on blogger, by feed or by email, but to be entered in the contest you must leave a comment on this post by midnight PST on Saturday, January 5th. I'll announce winners on Sunday, January 6, 2013.

Day 2 Giveaway: set of 4 modern vases (made by me and will be for sale in my shop opening in late Jan or Feb 2013).

Make sure you leave a comment on this post and on the other BlogOversary Giveaway posts to be entered in all five giveaways.

Comments now closed, announcing winners soon.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

5 year BlogOversary Giveway

To celebrate my 5 year anniversary I'm doing 1 free giveaway a day for the next 5 days to wrap up 2012. Okay, technically it was November, but I'm giving away stuff, so who really cares if I'm late :P

You can follow this blog on blogger, by feed or by email, but to be entered in the contest you must leave a comment on this post by midnight PST on Saturday, January 5th. I'll announce winners on Sunday, January 6, 2013.

Day 1 Giveaway: 2 modern planters as seen in the scene above (made by me, tutorial coming soon soon-ish).

Good luck and thanks for hanging out with me over the years. It's been a pleasure meeting so many of you in real life and virtually and I hope to continue our friendships and make new ones in the years to come.

Comments now closed, announcing winners soon.

PRD Miniatures New Years Sale

Pillows, chairs, tables, linens, beds, books, desks, accessories, rugs, sculptures, paintings, side tables, vanities, TVs, you name it, it's on sale. If it's in stock it's on sale. Save 20% off all in stock items through January 5 at PRD Miniatures: www.prdminiatures.com.

Makeshift Lighting Rig

Using the lighting rig from my lightbox tutorial, I added some 36" plain-end PVC pipes to the top and maneuvered it around my house. The first picture is before the lighting set up, next the lights and voila, much better pictures. I still have a lot to learn (lights are too close, need to better adjust filters, etc.), but I will post a real tutorial with lighting tips from my photographer brother later. I threw this together so I could share these pics quickly and get to the bigger news of an upcoming Giveaway!

Now it looks like natural light is shining through the window onto the ultra modern xmas tree (Doris gave me the tree, I keep forgetting to ask where she got it, isn't it awesome?).

Click on the photos to see a close up of the Stag Head. Yes, it is amazing and you can get it here. I came across this life size version that is no longer available, but this 6"/150mm tall version is here and is a great size for an ornament. I contacted the designer Dotsan and he eagerly agreed to make a 1:12 scale version for us enthusiasts. It took a few revisions to get the smaller scale version to be printable through Shapeways, but now it is available in black and white for under $14. Check out the is 3"/75mm tall version here. (There's a cool video of the larger scale one that I wish was available, but was too difficult for the company to make, so my mini version will have to suffice.)

Deets: fireplace, sofa, painting, metallic cubes, books, are PRD Miniatures. Rug, ribbon lamp, tree, are minimodernistas. Bookcase and coffee table are Peter Tucker. Green chairs are Reac. Accessories are from CW Lubin, Pepper, Modern MC, Neen, mini2b, CB2 ornament, dollhouse show purchases and made by me.

Happy Holidays!

Disappearing Act

So besides the recent uptick, this year has proven to be filled with much less mini time. My full-time job of toting kids to school and activities has increased with volunteering at my oldest's school. And my part-time "pay the bills" night job used to be a manageable 15-20 hours a week, but since the summer has turned into 30-40 hours a week with no sign of slowing down. Needless to say, posting took a back burner, and the time I could carve out slowly went to working on my swaps. I'd start to make progress, but then couldn't stand the sight of the kids art supply table, so I'd get distracted organizing around the real house.

I am 95% finished with my long overdue swaps, but this rainy weather has made it impossible to finish painting the final pieces I'm working on. There are some pretty cool spray paint booths, but I cut up some boxes and taped them together, then strung an unbent wire hanger between the two. Voila, my own spray paint booth for free. I also made a makeshift drying booth, cutting notches out of another box and shoving a hanger in it. All of the chairs are hanging from dental floss on a hook for easy transferring between boxes.

Of course I proceeded to leave these out in the rain (not the chairs just the boxes) and now have a soggy cardboard mess. As soon as I get a break in the weather I'll be finishing painting and ready to FINALLY mail out my swaps. Sorry ladies, thanks for your patience!!!

Lightbox Infinity Curve

As requested, here are more details on creating the infinity curve to go with the previous lightbox tutorial. Cut your 22" x 28" poster board to just under 12" x 28" (or whatever width of box you are using). If the edges are catching on the sides of your lightbox, trim the paper a little more. It should easily slide in and out of your lightbox, so the edges don't catch and cause bumps that distort the even and smooth background.
Push one edge into the top corner.
Then keep pushing until the back and bottom are flat and you have the desired curve you want. If your poster board slips out, you may need to weigh it down, but usually I set up my camera on it and that holds it in place. By keeping the extra length in the poster board, you can adjust the radius of the curve by pushing it in or sliding it out. Take some test pictures and see what you like best.

Lightbox Storage
To reduce the storage space needed for my new lightbox and lights, I cut the end off an 11" x 15" box and inserted it into my light box so it covers all three sides with the cut outs (with no infinity curve piece in it).

Then I can store my lights safely inside the lightbox without fear of the lights poking through the filters covering the cut outs or scuffing up my white poster board lined interior.

May the light be with you.

(Make sure you read this post with how to make the lightbox and lighting rig.)

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Let there be LIGHT! DIY Lightbox Tutorial 1.0

I finally bought all of the items I needed for the lighting tutorial I promised eons ago. But I got sidetracked and built this lightbox first. I pieced together advice from my brother and several tutorials, and tested suggestions to find what worked best for my minis.

Why a lightbox? Well, I've been working on swaps with countless failed attempts to match the quality of the lovely items I've received, that I gave up and stuck to what I do best — sprawl on my couch with my laptop. I started designing 3D models and have 3D printed some bookcases, side tables and vases. After I finish polishing up the details on the prototypes, I plan to open a shop in late January or early February. More details on that later.

DIY Lightbox Tutorial and Cheap Lighting Rig


For the lightbox you will need: Box (at least 12"x12"x12"), ruler, pen/pencil, tape, utility knife/razor blade, poster board/bristol board 22"x28", glue/spray mount, scissors, and (not pictured) linen or cotton fabric or tracing paper/parchement paper. For the lighting set up: 120 watt daylight R40 flood light, assorted PVC pipe and plumbing fixings, and (not pictured) 8 1/2" clamp light.


I started with a 12"x12"x12" box, you can go bigger but I wouldn't go any smaller. (If you are going to build the lighting rig too, don't go much higher than 12" or you'll need to get taller poles to fit the light over the box.) Cut off two of the flaps. Some people cut them all off, but you can use them for light control to block your camera from any side lighting sources, so for now I'm keeping them, but if they get annoying I'll slice them off later. Next cut out three of the walls. To maintain the integrity of the box, I marked the holes 2" from the sides and 2.5" from the base. Some people cut them smaller to allow more light in, but structurally, I think this will hold up better when I inevitably trip over it.

Your box should look like this. You can leave the interior unfinished, but if you line the inside of the box with white poster board it will help to bounce the light around the interior of the box and remove shadows*. It does make a difference, so do it, it's worth the time, trust me, (famous last words).

Before cutting up the poster board to cover the interior, cut one long piece for the infinity curve. 11 3/4" (or lightly less than the width of your box) x 28" (not pictured, sorry). It should be the width of your box, and the length should be extra long so when you put it in your box you can adjust the curve with the extra paper that will be sticking out. I also cut out different colors for backgrounds as seen in the photos below.

Back to the interior. Measure twice, cut, then label the back of the piece you are gluing to a corresponding number on the box interior. I used T L R for Top, Left, Right and N S E W for North South East West, to help get all of the right strips in the correct place and to glue the correct side. You could use numbers, whatever works for you. I used a repositionable Spray Mount adhesive (aka Artist's Adhesive), you could use a glue gun. Don't use glue sticks, they make the edges curl up, and Elmers type white glue can soak in and warp the poster board. (I forgot to line the inside of the flaps, but I'll add that later.) Note: if your white poster board is glossy on one side, use the glossy side on the interior to bounce more light to the center, use the matte side for the infinity curve.

Some people suggest using tracing paper or parchement paper to cover the holes to filter the light, it's cheap and works but I think fabric works better. I tried an old white cotton t-shirt, and cotton diper cloth with a woven linen look to it (this one worked the best for me). Other suggestions are white muslin, linen, fleece, any white fabric with some texture to diffuse the light. Cut your fabric and tape over the holes. I used blue painters tape, so I can easily remove the fabric to test different filter options.

Lightbox Supplies used:
Box (at least 12"x12"x12") ~ already had
ruler ~ already had
pen and pencil ~ already had
painters tape ~ already had
utility knife/razor blade - already had
scissors ~ already had
glue/spray mount ~ already had (spray mount repositionable adhesive costs $9-15 depending on where you buy)
2 sheets white poster board ~ $0.69 each (local art store, I heard Target might have some too)
2 sheets of blue and gold poster board ~ $0.99 each
linen or cotton fabric (old white t-shirt) or tracing paper/parchement paper ~ already had

Build time: 2.25 hours
Total lightbox cost: $3.26 + tax


For the lighting rig, look for 1/2" PVC pipe in the plumbing department of your local hardward store. I built this in the aisle, testing which pieces made it the most stable. Below are the pieces I used.


Lighting Rig Supplies used:
120 watt Daylight R40 flood light ~ $8.77 at HomeDepot
8 1/2" clamp light ~ $7.99 at OSH (on sale for $5.90 at Pepboys)
Plumbing fixings
  • Two 1/2" side outlet elbow, 45 ~ $1.29 each
  • Two 1/2" triple slip tee ~ $0.35 each
Assorted PVC pipe (cheaper to buy one long pipe and cut to the size you need, but I bought pre-cut)
  • Four 1/2" x 18" PVC pipe (plain-end, white for the legs/base) ~ $0.32 each
  • One 1/2" x 24" PVC pipe (plain-end, white for the cross bar) ~ $0.42 each
  • Two 1/2" x 24" PVC riser (screw ends, dark grey for the sides) ~ $3.49 each

Buying time: 20 minutes
Build time: 15 minutes
Total lighting rig cost with one light: $28.72 + tax

All of the photos taken below are with the one single overhead light source, but with this lighting rig you can also add side lights. I'll post pictures taken that way another time.

Things I Learned

* Pictured on the left is the lightbox with the plain brown cardboard interior not covered, and second, is after I lined the interior with white poster board. Click on the pictures and toggle back and forth. If you look at the sides of the images, you'll notice the difference in lighting. The plain brown cardboard interior is darker around the edges, so I definitely think it's worth the time to line the whole interior. The black bookcase is one of the pieces I made based on a bookcase I saw on Orlando's blog, HommeMaker. This prototype turned out too thin, but I'll be making a thicker version that will be for sale in my store next year.


The slant bookcase I miniaturized for Meagan from a design by David Ngo. If you click on the image, you can see the differences between filters. Subtle, but check out the shadows on the middle shelf. After testing a variety of filters, I'm sticking with the cotton fabric with more of a woven linen texture.

The tree was a gift from minimodernistas, I'm not sure where Doris got it, but it's aweseome. Here I swapped in a different color 12" x 28" sheet of poster board for the background. Having one black and one white background should suffice, but I got the blue, silver and gold to have more options to work with. If you compare the shadow under the tree you can see the difference between the filters. I prefer the more diffused light with the cotton linen. Hit me up with any questions, otherwise good luck and good light. :)

(On a separate note; my brother is an uber talented professional photographer, cinematographer and artist; he set up the lighting and took the photos that won third place in the FDQ contest. He had suggested the PVC pipe lighting rig, but I forgot exactly how he said to build it, so I made do with the above set up. I'm going to have a 2.0 version with advice from him. Stay tuned. :)

Hope this gives you more light for the new year! Peace out.

(Make sure you read this post with more details on the infinity curve and turning the lightbox into a storage box for your lights.)