Look ma, I'm on TV!

Did you spot me in the trailer? I am the shortest (although an inch taller than Sandi) so it's OK if you didn't!

To tell you the truth I would never even think about being on TV if it wasn't for my littlest brother. He convinced me to apply and insisted I would do great - so here we are!

Sandi, the hosts and 10 contestants

The Great Big Tiny Design Challenge is hosted by Sandi Toksvig and is a competition-style British reality TV show. There are 10 contestants and we are divided into 2 groups. We will then do some crazy speed dolls house decorating whilst making a miniature which has been assigned to us. I make other miniature items (must be historically accurate to the period of the theme) which for once isn't food! 

Me and the other contestants split up into 2 groups

Each team will have to decorate a dolls house room according to the time period which was set for that week. The interesting part is that we only have 8 HOURS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The winning diorama gets a permanent 'home' in the diorama and the loosing team gets a person eliminated. The elimination is based on the individual miniature that each person has been assigned to make. 

Our crafting family

Me and the other contestants got close really quickly because we would talk about miniatures and dolls houses when we are NOT filming! We were also kept in a tight bubble (because of Covid-19) so we were always doing stuff together. 

As you can see my apron was huge despite me telling the production company that I'm very petite. So petite I actually do buy children's clothes! However the production crew was always so nice to me and we were treated really well. 

I do hope you can cheer me on! It is episode 4 this Sunday on More4 and believe it or not - I am still in it!

Bye!!

Littlest Sweet Shop kitchen appliance debut - Nespresso machine

Hey guys!

I haven't written any entries for a while now. I've been busy with updating the new website, storefront, Etsy and developing new miniatures as well. I still haven't gotten the hang of juggling work and social media AND being a full-time housewife. 

Being away from blogging also means that my website is finally 90% complete (yay) and still able to produce Youtube tutorials as a way to encourage younger Littlest Sweet Shoppers to get into modelling miniatures. 

But today is a very significant time for me because it is the day that I am launching Littlest Sweet Shop's kitchen appliances! After 8 years I thought it would be nice to expand the range outside just food (but still keeping with a similar theme) and with the help of my husband who does 3D modelling in the computer, I can finally do this!

Presenting - the compact espresso machine in 1:6 scale!

These machines have been 3D modelled by my husband using the Nespresso machine as his reference so we can produce a perfectly scaled down model for dolly owners. 1:6 scale has always been a niche scale with kid's brands dominating most of the market. I thought it would be nice to bring a product into the 1:6 scale hobby for adult collectors for a change. The 1:12 scale market already has almost everything you can think of shrunken down to fit the size. 

The machines were 3D printed in resin and air-brush painted. Smaller details such as the raised buttons have been hand-painted. The handle (which works as the mechanism to create the espresso), capsule tray, water tank lid and coffee outlet are removable for extra play value. 

Since everything has been modelled based on the real thing, there are a lot of really cool details like the side vents, brand embossing and even perfectly formed tiny holes on the capsule tray. The handle has also been designed to fit in nicely into the machine so you can change the position over and over again.

Of course we also made the coffee capsules for the machines. The pods have been 3D modelled and printed in resin. These extremely tiny parts are airbrushed in gold and the tops are hand-painted in silver giving it the foil lid effect. 

We have also made espresso cups to capture all of that lovely coffee which will drip from the outlet. They are 3D modelled based on a real espresso cup, scaled down and printed in resin. Each cup is hand-painted in enamel paint. You can order empty cups or filled with really dark coffee! 

I also made some miniature almond biscotti to go with the coffee itself. They have the same crusty and hard texture like the real thing! Each biscotti has a generous amount of almonds and since each piece is hand-made, they are all unique. Make sure you have subscribed to my Youtube channel because I will be uploading the Biscotti tutorial by this weekend. 

Hope you enjoyed the debut of this small coffee machine. Me and my husband definitely plan to make more appliances in the future but for now this machine is available on Etsy. 

There is still so much to update such as a new 1:12 scale shop, new 1:12 scale dolls and even a new 1:6 scale diorama (featured in this post). But I will blog about that some other day :)

Bye!

Commission update: 1:12 scale Subway style sandwiches

Hello again Littlest Sweet Shoppers!

You might notice that the blog website address has changed back to Blogspot which means the website has been refreshed and updated!

Please visit www.LittlestSweetShop.com to check it out. The website still needs a lot of updating but I will get there eventually! For now you can still refer to the menu on the blog to see almost every Littlest Sweet Shop miniature which is available for commission. The only change for now is that the blog menus won't be updated with new miniatures and eventually be deleted once they have been updated on the new website.

Here is another commission I made for a returning client. She always asks for 1:12 scale items and this time it is for a scaled down version of Subway meals. I'm so happy to report that she loves them and said the sandwiches looked so real!

There were several new techniques used just to make this set of miniatures including 3D resin printing, vacuum forming and printing on tissue. It may not look like a lot but this took me a few weeks to make!

1:12 scale client commission

2 submarine style sandwiches (tuna mayo and turkey ham), 1 cookie with paper bag, Sprite in a cup with straw, spilled Sprite

Spilled Sprite. The spill is loose so you can put it anywhere

Comes with tissue paper you can use to wrap the sandwich for take-away

Spilled Sprite with glass crystals, resin printed straw and vacuum formed lid. Cup is real cardboard

2 sandwiches with tomatoes, cheese, lettuce and mayo

Other than that, she also ordered a scaled down version of our 1:6 scale best-sellers. I also made extras which you can find in my Etsy store.

Tubs of ice-cream including a new flavour (per client's request)

1:12 scale candies

1:12 scale orange soda

Kokomi-chan with some after school snacks

Currently I'm not taking any commissions and trying to stock up the Etsy store and maybe a new tutorial video for the YouTube channel. I hope everyone is staying safe during this pandemic and I will be at home (as always) making more miniatures.

Later! 

News! News! (and commission update)

Happy New Year Littlest Sweet Shoppers!

Apologies for being absent for a while now. If you have been following me on social media you might notice that I am still around - just not blogging as much. In fact I'm not sure how many people will actually read this entry but I'm still going to write some big news today.

First of all, there is going to be a new website! I have accepted the fact that blogging is now passé and this blog-based website is a bit 90s. I am currently creating a new website which is modern with a simple and better layout. The past years I have been pulling my hair out because editing my menu (pages) through blogger has been hell. The new website won't have any written entries but there will still be a link to this original blog. This blogger web address will revert to the original but you should be notified of the changes if you subscribe to updates. I will give more information when the changeover is complete but bear with me for a while since it's still a mammoth task to create a whole new website from scratch. To date I have over 3000 photos alone on this current blog and I'm linking them back to the new website one-by-one. I'm hoping to finish by end of this month.

This also means that I am no longer updating the pages with new items as I have already started shifting them to the new blog. Eventually when the new website takes over, I will also remove all of the pages from this blog so there is less clutter, redundancies and a more streamlined price structure.

Secondly, Littlest Sweet Shop is moving to a new address! Not me personally but there will be a new diorama for the 1:6 scale world. I love the original Littlest Sweet Shop in blue but just like this blog - it's old and made from cheap foam board so I knew that one day I will have to upgrade it. I'm not a diorama maker so this task has been handled by a very talented Korean artist. It will be revealed hopefully before this summer. 

Apart from web-editing, commissions, Etsy orders and being a housewife, everything is still pretty much the same. My Etsy sales have been great but it means I have less time to develop new miniatures or record YouTube video tutorials. I try to prioritise what's important now and blogging does not seem to gain me any traffic or new readers. However it is still my main outlet to talk about my commissions and anything interesting about running this miniature shop. 

Recently I made a commission for someone who makes shadow boxes. She wanted specifically these 2 boxes in 1:12 scale so they are only half an inch wide! Usually I'm nervous about making prints in 1:12 scale but these turned out better than expected and the client was pleased. I'm glad that it will be arranged into a personalised shadow box for someone.

1:12 scale box of candy

Only half an inch wide!

Kokomi with a box of Hot Tamales

Kokomi-chan with a Jelly Belly gift box

Other than that, I'm currently doing another 1:12 scale commission whilst balancing life! I put a lot of hard work in the last 8 years and since this hobby is always evolving, I'm still trying to catch up. Thank you to all of my supporters and loyal clients, I promise there are bigger and better things to come.

Bye!

Hello Littlest Sweet Shoppers

I'd like to announce that the Christmas store is now open! Just visit our Etsy page:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/LittlestSweetShopUK

New and exclusive items in the Etsy store includes new 1:6 scale Gingerbread Houses - each unique and one-of-a-kind. They are all maxed out in luxurious toppings and decorations. Everything was hand-made to create tasty perfection in playscale (suitable for fashion dolls such as Barbie).

2019 Littlest Sweet Shop Gingerbread Houses

Each house is fully decked not just on the front but also on the sides and at the back. Each detail such as Japanese style sprinkles and pole candy has been meticulously recreated to add realism.

Harumi-chan with her favourite Ice Cream House. A pastel and kawaii favourite

This is the Cabin Gingerbread House. It's a more traditional style candy house with red and white candy. The roof shingles are Necco Wafers which is a type of candy used in Gingerbread House making in America.

Cabin Gingerbread House. Trimmed with whipped cream and Christmas candy. Sits on top of a giant biscuit sandwich. Decorated with Japanese sprinkles, a mini Xmas wreath and peppermint candy

Chocolate bar windows and more peppermint candy. Red and green pole candy to keep it in holiday mood

Roof shingles using Necco wafers. Crowned with red and green gummy candies

Chocolate log house. Sits on top of a layer of chocolate cake and decorated with candy and cookies

Biscuit shingle roof. Crowned with icing, strawberry chocolates and chocolate balls

Tiny cookie windows and rainbow pole candy accents

Rainbow-theme classic Gingerbread House. Pink wafer door. Glittery green base. Trimmed with whipped cream and lace on the front of the roof

Chimney decorated with frosting and super tiny pieces of rainbow candy

6 colour rainbow candy tiled roof. Traditional icing decoration on sides

Candy 'Stained glass' window, chocolate windows, Japanese sprinkles along the roof

Super tiny rainbow candy in a row. All houses are made using our finest Gingerbread recipe

Ice cream house. Pink wafer house decorated in royal icing and candy. Sits on top of a cookie sandwich with scoops of pastel ice cream. A cute bow on the door and a biscuit tart on top

Marshmallow flump crowns this pastel house and over 400 rainbow sprinkles on the roof

Decorated with pastel pole candy, white chocolate bar windows and pastel marshmallow sweets

The Christmas store restocked best-sellers such as 1:12 scale donuts and the all popular packaged Twinkie. There are also exclusive Christmas miniature food for your dolls. Make sure to stock up now before the Christmas rush. I'm going to Paris this Friday and all orders after that will be shipped next Thursday 21st November. Hope you will order quickly especially if you are in America as Littlest Sweet Shop is located in the UK.

Bye!

Halloween at Littlest Sweet Shop

Happy Halloween Littlest Sweet Shoppers!

This year I made some Jack o'lanterns which are actually hollow and you can also learn how to make it on our YouTube channel. But of course you can always order them from our Dollhouse Minis menu and they come in any shape, size and even design!

Littlest Sweet Shop Jack o'lanterns

These miniature pumpkins make perfect decoration on the 1:12 scale dollhouse entrance

Kokomi-chan (1:12 scale) with a Jack o'lantern

There are also normal pumpkins which haven't been carved in our Fruits and Veg menu. Also available in any shape or size (and various colours too). 

Littlest Sweet Shop pumpkins

That's all for now. Hope you are having a great Halloween. Harumi is dressed as a nurse this year and we had a Halloween party in the dollhouse. She collected so much candy and insisted on counting them before bed.  

Halloween party at the dollhouse

Mix your miniatures with our own selection of hand-made models

Harumi managed to collect mostly Littlest Sweet Shop candy

Happy Halloween!