DIY Butterfly Kiss Miniature Living room set

Yes, I have another DIY miniature kit!

This one I received as a birthday gift but can be purchased off Amazon.  

I'm not completely finished yet but I was excited to show what I have so far.  

It's very cute, but quality is not the same as the previous miniature I did.  It's much cheaper in price and quality but still fun nevertheless.  It was definitely a challenge and quite a bit more difficult compared to the previous kit.  Instructions come in both Chinese and poorly written English.  The poor translation made it a bit more difficult but there were also a lot of very small intricate parts and pieces that took much more patience and persistence. 

This kit kept me occupied for many more hours than my Japanese thatched tea house kit. I would estimate it took me around 20 hours of slowly working on this over many months.

Box and packaging:

Pen for scale:


Near complete project.  It's still missing few small pieces, plastic enclosure and lighting:  (click to enlarge)

As you can see, lots of tiny details.  Pillows are hand sewn.  Each book is made by cutting out a printout and folding it into a book form.  Some of the flowers are hand made or hand cut.

Furniture is assembled by glueing boards together.  The sofa is put together out of multiple boards, felt cushions, cloth and little attachable furniture feet.

It actually comes with electric lights that come with wiring and battery pack so it can actually light up!

There is also an enclosure behind the tall bookcase that can house a musical box.  There are holes in the back wall to allow for the wind-up mechanism.

Back:  Showing the music box wind-up mechanism and battery pack.

The finished project:
BTW, you can see that I did a TERRIBLE job with the plastic enclosure.  This was my first go around with something like this and now I know to avoid touching the plastic at all costs! I left sticky glue fingerprints everywhere! It looks worse now than before the plastic enclosing was placed.  But alas, it is now a completed project and I can say I have conquered this miniature kit! :P

Simple Rhinestones & Nail Art

I recently came across some really cheap nail art rhinestones so I thought I'd give them a try.

This turned out to be surprisingly easy and didn't require much technical expertise at all.  

I don't have much in terms of nail art tools and found that for a simple design you really don't need anything other than your fingers.  I had a pair of tweezers but didn't feel they were necessary. 

I purchased the rhinestones online at AliExpress.  I don't actually recommend this web site as there is a very long delivery time (weeks to months) and there have been some very shady sellers that I've already crossed paths with.

Necessary materials:
- Rhinestones
- Top coat
Optional materials:
- Colored nail polish
- Base coat

I've also seen rhinestones available for purchase at my local Daiso (Japanese $1.50 store) or Dollar Tree.  This gorgeous Maybelline NY Color Show polish in the color Alluring Rose was found at my local Dollar Tree.  Goes to show that at home manicures don't need to be expensive! 

Directions:

Apply as many coats of the colored nail polish as you desire (or just a clear coat if you don't want color).  Immediately after painting the last coat, carefully place the rhinestone.  I simply placed the rhinestone right side up, then used my finger pad to pick it up and place it on my nail.  You have a few seconds to adjust the rhinestone to your liking.  Then apply 2 thick layers of top coat over the rhinestones. 

Note: I initially tried with just 1 layer of top coat but found that they quickly fell off with my daily activities.  Two layers of top coat have kept my rhinestones on through days of normal use.