Snow Day: Bunnies and my Peeps! (Ruth Stewart kits)

Mother Nature decided that Northern Virginia needed a little Winter decorating so our little icy rain weather became 3" of snow and a cancelled school day (and that means I don't open the store)!  So today just became: Mini Play Day!!!!

We participated in the Molly Cromwell miniature show last weekend and my little shadow (my youngest) joined me to help out...

Crammed as much as I could onto our little table :)

While at the show she took the children's free class and LOVED every minute of it - and she did a great job decorating her witch's table and assembling the 2" high paper house!

I love how she glued her book upright and the bat on top!

She added "smoke" (cotton ball) to the chimney when we got home

And now she is hooked and wants to help me with everything mini related (however, she is still not allowed to help paint the mansion's ballroom ceiling. That's my fun project!).

So last year my friend and I attended the Philly show (Philadelphia Miniaturia show) and I purchased several little FIMO mold kits from Ruth Stewart of Stewart Dollhouse Creations (Stewart Dollhouse Creations website)....

Wonderful, easy, step-by-step directions and photos!

I have been waiting for a play day to make them!  And now I have help too!

Squishing the clay into the mold

Scraping it level in the mold

So easy a 10 year old can do it!

I'm playing with the chocolate mold...

Teenager wanted to try too.

Popping them out of molds once they were cooked

Other teenager had to try it too

They were so excited to pop the minis out of the molds

Our "mini" mini collection.

They still need eyes painted on, but our little chicks are so perfect!

Love the little peanut butter cup chocolates!

Chocolate bunnies were the hardest to squish and level in the mold, but once the bows and eyes are painted on, they will look fabulous in my Cottontail Confectionery shop!

Little bits to put on a tray

I even attempted to free-hand make a cake.  It'll need icing. And it will have to be buried in the back of the shop. LOL

Made the gingerbread, cakes?, and icing blobs from a different mold I'd bought two or three years ago. Need to get Stewart's gingerbread men mold cuz these ones were too thick.

So I'm hooked and looking to see what other kits she has and what other supplies will make it easier for us to play, er, I mean, create more fun things!  My kids and I thoroughly enjoyed our snow day!  Thank you Mother Nature!

Customer's Little Fixer-Upper

This home came in needing some obvious repair work (mostly shingles and window work)...

Before: back of house

Before: front of house

You can see where the shingles on the back roof needed to be replaced.  As well as some on the side and front roof that needed to be replaced...

Before: Back and side roof need replacement shingles

Before: front roof missing a large section of shingles

I found some left over shingles from another project and did some painting to match...

The shingles in a row are from the house

They weren't quite the same shape and the new painted shingles were a flat finish whereas the old shingles had a faded semigloss coat on them, but overall they blended in well enough.

Back and side roof now shingled

Front roof is now shingled

Customer wanted the shag carpets removed (she wants to pick out and install new carpets herself).

Customer also wanted us to remove this carpet, which I had already begun to pull up before I remembered to take a pic

So it doesn't look particularly pretty, but floor is ready for it's next carpet now.

I also removed all the broken window panes and installed one plexiglass pane in each window opening. And I reattached the front door with a tape hinge (door is too thin for a hinge and customer didn't want to spend an additional hour of labor it would take to install the hinge onto the door and house when child will probably just break it off. So I opted for a tape hinge so door still opens/closes but quick, easy fix for mom when it breaks off again after excess use.)

Overall this quick little job gave this "good-bones" house a much needed fix-up.

BEFORE: back of house (Once more)

AFTER (overall view of back of house)

BEFORE: front of house (again)

AFTER: front of house

I cannot believe it is November already!  Have two more customer houses coming in this month for work so I need to get some more of these houses that are still here finished!