Review - Christmas Candy Stand miniature house kit from Rolife

I was sent this miniature Rolife craft kit in exchange for a review

I always love crafting for Christmas, and so I was delighted to be given the opportunity to review a Christmas themed miniature crafting kit from Rolife. I chose to build the Christmas Candy Stand, which will make an ideal companion for the Christmas themed Miniature Gingerbread House which I reviewed last year.

The Christmas Candy Stand kit is a two star difficulty kit with a suggested build time of around 2-3 hours. I would say that this is accurate, and I was able to complete most of the kit over an uninterrupted evening. It was certainly a welcome relief after the rather more complicated Rolife Oxygen Oasis kit!

I enjoyed the fact that most of the construction materials in this set are wood and paper, and the kit doesn't contain too much plastic. All you need for the build in addition to the kit contents are two AA batteries for the lighting kit. Although the house is designed to be assembled using the supplied double sided tape, I did find that I preferred to use stronger glue in several places. This will ensure that it survives being packed up and kept in storage from year to year.

Most of the parts in the kit are supplied as wooden sheets, with pieces that need to be pressed out. You need to take care here as some of them are a little fiddly, especially from the thinner wooden sheets. There are also pre-cut paper pieces, stickers, and tiny plastic, wooden and metal components. The smaller parts are packaged inside numbered bags, and it's best not to remove them from the bags until you need them. If you get in a muddle there is a parts guide to help identify individual pieces.

As with many Rolife kits, the first step is to put together some of the smaller elements that will go inside the house. In this case you work on the counter which goes along the front of the shop, and various shelves and display items. This is where you really appreciate all the tiny details that go into the build, even things that won't be easy to spot once fully assembled! 

Here you can see the front counter, and the small shelves and display units that will be filled later on. It's a good idea to have a place to store these items until you need them - the upturned lid of the box is ideal.

Next you assemble the walls and roof. These pieces are larger and made of thicker wood to make them more sturdy. This is my favourite part of the assembly, because you can start to get a feel for the dimensions of the finished house. At this point the lamp and wires have been installed underneath the snowflake themed roof, and I love the tubes of sweets along the back wall. They are really cleverly made with printed rolled paper inside.

These pieces are then slotted together to form the main structure. At this point the battery box is also installed and hidden underneath the counter with the wires neatly tucked away down the sides. 

Finally the remaining pieces are assembled and everything is firmly stuck into place. There are some lovely details in this kit. The gorgeous little sweet bags are made using some of the plastic packaging from the sticker sheet and filled with little sweets which are cut from a longer section of extruded plastic, it's very clever. There are tiny lollipops made by gluing beads to plastic tubes, and cardboard gift boxes and pouches.

The completed kit is a gorgeous little sweet shop packed full of delicious Christmas treats. It's a great addition to my Christmas decor, and was a real pleasure to put together. 

I love how it looks next to the Gingerbread House Miniature Kit, and both kits will be proudly displayed on my sideboard this year!

If you are looking for more Christmas themed crafting kits from Rolife then you might also like these:

Miniature Gingerbread House kit from Rolife

Christmas 3D frame miniature kits from Rolife

A craft supply de-stash - simple Christmas drawstring gift bags

Earlier this Autumn I set myself a personal challenge to batch up five craft projects, with the intention of completing them by the end of the year. I'm pleased to say that it's going really well, and I've now completed project number four - some Christmas fabric gift bags.

This Christmas fabric has been in my stash for so long that I can't even remember buying it! I didn't have a project in mind when I did, and so I really wanted to find a use for it that would mean I could appreciate it rather than just having it stuck in a drawer.

I'm not a particularly talented sewing machine user, but one thing that I can make is super simple gift bags. I decided that this was the perfect craft for this Christmas fabric, because it's a useful item that can be brought out year after year. It was also an opportunity to use some of my stashed Christmas ribbon.

I prepared five rectangles of fabric, with co-ordinating cotton and ribbons.

When I came to do the craft it was so easy to get started, it took less than an hour and that included ironing the fabric and remembering how to thread the sewing machine with different coloured cottons! They are super easy to make. All I do is sew a hem along one side for the ribbon, then sew the sides of the bag together. Ribbon is threaded through the hem using a safety pin, and I added a plastic toggle just because I have some in my stash. 

I now have five gift bags in lovely Christmas fabric that I can enjoy every year.

Double-sided Impossipuzzle 550 pieces - Baked beans and sprouts - Solving tips

Earlier this year I shared some solving tips for one of the puzzles that I had worked on in the Impossipuzzle series - Impossipuzzle Golf Balls and Tees. The other week I came across another in the series which I also had fun completing, and so I thought I'd share it here. 

This puzzle is called Impossipuzzle - Beans and Sprouts and it's another double-sided puzzle depicting baked beans on one side and Brussels sprouts on the other.

 

This 550 piece puzzle was made by Funtime Gifts. The box on my charity shop copy is a little faded as it must be fairly old, I think this range was released in the mid 2000s. There are a few others in the series, with one in particular that I'm still on the hunt for featuring sweets and candies. They are readily available on eBay, so if I don't find it on my charity shop trawls in the near future I will look there!

I think that the difficulty level on the different sides in this jigsaw is more similar than in the Golf Balls and Tees puzzle. However I think that the baked beans side is probably the most difficult side, and this is the one that I decided to do first!

I knew that the only way I could tackle this puzzle would be to start with a thorough sort of the pieces. I used my puzzle trays and sorted into the six main shape types, as well as the edge pieces. Then I started the puzzle by doing the edge, further sorting the edge pieces to help me as I went along. Even though it's double-sided, the two sides are so distinct that this doesn't increase the difficulty of the puzzle.

That was the easy bit done! Then it was time to lay out all the remaining pieces. You really do need a lot of space when you are working on a jigsaw like this. Although the puzzles in this series only have 550 pieces, they are large pieces, so the completed jigsaw is the same size as a standard 1000 piece jigsaw. This puzzle took up my entire dining room table while I was working on it.

The golf ball puzzle was easier to solve because it was a repeating pattern. This puzzle does have a repeat, but only the one, and I was only able to identify two pieces that were repeated. So this isn't really a strategy that you can use to solve it. It's also not much help to use the reference image, although I did find it helpful in some places at the very beginning. 

So the way that I worked on the puzzle was to work off groups of three. At the start you have four corners available to work on, and as you add more pieces you have more to go on. I would remove a section of three pieces and then hold it over every piece that might fit in the space. As you can imagine this was a very slow process, especially at first! Some sessions I would only place two or three pieces.

There are some tiny areas of the puzzle which are almost black, so I was able to find some pieces that went together by looking for these. But almost all of the puzzle was put together one piece at a time. There is some distinction in the sizes of the pieces which helped a little bit - some of the rows were composed entirely of taller pieces and these were easier to spot.

Obviously putting together the puzzle does get easier as you go along, because you have fewer pieces to search through. The first quarter or so was the most difficult, but after that I did feel as though I was speeding up, and I definitely had more of a sense of which piece was more likely to fit in a certain place. The last quarter was when I really started to enjoy it!

I wrote recently about why I enjoy difficult jigsaw puzzles, and I definitely get a far greater sense of satisfaction when I put the final piece into a jigsaw like this!

I was convinced that I had missing pieces all the way through, so it was a relief to find that the jigsaw was complete. One the one hand, someone that has completed a jigsaw like this is a dedicated puzzler, and so they are likely to take good care of their puzzles. But on the other hand, it's the sort of puzzle that could have been left out on a table for months on end, with plenty of opportunity for pieces to go walkabout!

Of course it's a double-sided puzzle so I had to flip it over to see the sprouts side. This side of the puzzle also only has the one repeat, but I do think that it looks easier. There is a greater variation in the colours, you could probably pick out the lighter sections quite easily and I think it would be easier to pick out the individual pieces. I'll definitely be trying it at some point!

This is my current collection of 'impossible' puzzles. So far, along with this one I've completed the World's Most Difficult Jigsaw Puzzle - Kittens and the Double-Sided Impossipuzzle Golf Balls and Tees. I think I'm going to work on the Wildlife puzzle at the bottom next and then save the double-sided Smarties until last - that one really does look like a challenge!

Making a room minimal starts with a mess - Stripping back, and sizing the skip hire

This is a collaborative post

The minimalist room always looks the same in photographs. Bare floorboards, plain walls, one good chair, a plant, and a great deal of light.

What the photographs never show is the week before, when the same room was full of ripped-out cupboards, rolled-up carpet and a fireplace surround leaning against the door. A minimal room is not just a room with fewer things in it. Very often it is a room that has had its own clutter taken out, the clutter built into the walls and floors by whoever lived there before. Getting to calm means a short spell of chaos first.

The clutter that's built in

Most people start a minimalist project with possessions, and that part is well covered. The harder part is the room itself, because so much of what makes a space feel busy is fixed in place.

Typical candidates, in roughly the order people notice them:

• Fitted wardrobes and alcove cupboards, usually chipboard or MDF, which shrink the room and rarely survive being taken out
• Carpet and underlay, often hiding perfectly good floorboards
• Dado rails, picture rails and wallpaper borders, which cut a wall into strips
• A fireplace surround and hearth, sometimes with an old gas fire still attached
• Boxing-in, pelmets, heavy curtain poles and shelving brackets
• Dated light fittings and the extra sockets and switches nobody uses

None of these is a big job on its own. Together they produce a surprising volume of waste from a single room, and that is where most minimalist makeovers stall: not at the deciding, but at the getting rid.

Sizing the skip hire for one room

The skip hire size guide from easySkip lists single-room renovations as the typical job for a 6-yard skip, which it gives as roughly 3.2 metres long, 1.6 metres wide and 1.2 metres high, or about 50 to 60 standard refuse bags. That holds for a room stripped of its fittings, but the Planning Portal draws a clear line at the chimney breast: planning permission is not needed to remove an internal one, but building regulations approval always applies, because it is part of the building's structure. Most skip hire firms will take the brick, hearth and surround that come out of a fireplace, but they are the heaviest things a room gives up, so they are worth mentioning when booking.

For a room reset without structural work, the useful exercise is to picture the waste rather than guess at it. A double wardrobe broken down flat, a roll of carpet and underlay, a fireplace surround and a few bags of rails and offcuts add up faster than they look. Breaking things down before loading makes more difference than people expect: a wardrobe carried out whole wastes most of its own volume in air.

Photo credit Haberdoedas II via Unsplash

What doesn't belong in the skip at all

Minimalism is supposed to mean less waste, not just less stuff, so it is worth being strict about what goes in:

• Anything with a plug or a gas pipe: Old light fittings, an electric fire and any other electrical item should go to the electrical recycling at a household recycling centre, not into a skip. A gas fire is a different matter again: the Health and Safety Executive says that anyone employed to work on gas appliances in a home must be a registered gas engineer, and disconnecting a fire so it can come out is gas work.
• Paint tins and solvents: Even a few half-used tins need the council's own route for paint and chemicals.
• Anything someone else could use: A freestanding chest of drawers, a mirror, a decent rug or a set of shelves has more life in it than a fitted cupboard ever will. Offering it locally first is the most minimalist decision in the whole project.
• Material for the craft box: Lengths of old picture rail, solid timber skirting offcuts, the better tiles from a surround and the brass fittings off old doors are exactly the kind of things that turn into frames, coasters and small projects later, if there is a plan for them. If there is no plan, they go.

Carpet, plasterboard and mattresses are worth checking with the skip firm before booking, since policies on them vary from one firm to another.

The order that keeps it calm

Stripping a room back goes much more smoothly with a simple sequence, especially with a family still living in the house.

• Empty the room first: Possessions out before anything is unscrewed, sorted into keep, give, sell and recycle as they go. This is the familiar minimalist part, and it is far easier in a room that is about to change.
• Book the skip for the strip-out itself: A short, concentrated weekend of work fills it efficiently and keeps the mess contained to a few days rather than a few weeks.
• Work from the top down: Light fittings and rails first, then cupboards and the fireplace, then the floor last, so nothing is dragged across boards you are hoping to keep.
• Leave the room empty for a week: Once it is stripped and cleaned, resist putting anything back immediately. Living with the empty space for a few days makes it much clearer what the room actually needs, which is usually less than was planned.

The room afterwards

When the skip has gone and the dust has settled, the room is quieter in a way that is hard to describe until you are standing in it. The floorboards are visible again, the walls are one colour, and the space holds only what was chosen to be there.

That is the real point of the mess. A minimal room is not created by buying the right chair. It is created by taking out everything that was in the way, and then being careful about what comes back in.

Felt crafting ideas for Halloween and Autumn

The calendar may say that it's Autumn, but the weather seems to be taking a while to catch up this year! Nevertheless, today I'm sharing some of my favourite felt crafts for some Autumn and Halloween themed felt crafting. 

Follow the links for full details of each craft!

Felt Autumn leaves

These embroidered felt Autumn leaves were really simple to make using scraps of felt and tiny beads. I've displayed them in several ways - in the past I have gathered them together in a shallow bowl, and this year I have strung them on a length of cord across the mantlepiece using tiny wooden pegs. They measure around 10cm in height and I had a lot of fun varying the colour combinations and embroidery details.

Halloween felt bunting with ribbon and buttons

This homemade Halloween felt bunting was a real craft supply de-stashing project. I used large felt triangles for the background, then I designed each pendant individually using scraps of felt, ribbon, beads and buttons. I love putting it out each Halloween, often with a few fairy lights.

Colourful stuffed felt sugar skulls

These felt sugar skull Halloween decorations are another great project to use up those crafty bits and pieces in your stash. The basic skull design can be decorated in all sorts of creative ways using beads, buttons, ribbons, sequins - all sorts of craft materials that you have lying around! They can be displayed in a bowl, lined up on a shelf, or you can add a small hanging loop. I chose white for the background, but you could make them in all sorts of colours and sizes.

Simple felt stuffed pumpkins for Autumn decor

These stuffed felt pumpkins were so simple and quick to sew together, and they look wonderful heaped together for an Autumn display. I used a gold cord which really sparkles, and you can really get creative with different colours and shades of felt.

Halloween felt garland bunting

This Halloween felt garland is so easy to make, it just takes a little bit of time to cut out all the tiny shapes! They are strung together using a sewing machine and embellished with sequins.

Make a monster felt kit for toddlers

Finally, this make a monster kit busy bag was one of the earliest crafts that I shared on this blog! All you need to do is cut out some monster themed shapes from felt, add in a few other bits and pieces, and you have a sweet little busy bag craft for your little ones!

Working on a super difficult jigsaw puzzle

Earlier this year I shared my experience working on the World's Most Difficult Jigsaw Puzzle - Kittens edition. This was a puzzle that I received as a gift when I was a teenager and had completed several times over the years. It's quite a challenge, although in my blog post I describe some ways to help solve it.

I love to browse charity shops for secondhand jigsaw puzzles, and so I thought I'd start keeping an eye out for some of the other puzzles in the series. There are loads and I have no intention of collecting them all, especially as many of the images don't really appeal to me - I'm not keen on cartoon puzzles and I'm selective about photographic puzzles. But I thought it would be nice to have a small collection of the ones with an image that I do like.

My Mum is helping with the hunt too, and she recently found me this one - Impossipuzzle Golf Balls and Tees. I've only solved the golf balls side which actually wasn't too difficult - however the tees side looks very challenging!

Recently I had a very successful charity shop haul and picked up another three puzzles to add to my growing collection. Two are from the World's Most Difficult Jigsaw Puzzle series and my favourite is an image entirely composed of Smarties. I passed over this one in a charity shop a couple of years ago and later regretted it, so I was really pleased to find another one. The other puzzle is similar to the kittens jigsaw and features a variety of different animals.

The third puzzle I bought is also from the Impossipuzzle series, and it's the one that I decided to start with. Baked Beans on one side and Brussels Sprouts on the other! It's very much a puzzle that needs to be fully shape sorted and completed piece by piece, so it's going to be my jigsaw companion for a little while yet.

I was working on it last night, placing a piece every five to ten minutes or so, and my son asked me whether I was actually enjoying it. Usually he sees me work on jigsaws with a pleasant picture that aren't too difficult and can be completed in a couple of days.

I realised that yes, even though it's very slow going and can be frustrating at times, working on a more difficult puzzle like this is really enjoyable. When you place a piece in any jigsaw you can get a small dopamine hit, but when you place a piece in a difficult jigsaw it's even more satisfying. And when it's finally completed you really feel as though you've achieved something that not everyone can (or would want to!) do.

When I'm putting together the puzzle I can really feel my brain working, and I feel that my skills have improved over time. If I have the chance to work uninterrupted then I can enter a 'flow state' and it helps me to feel calmer. 

I'm definitely not going to be exclusively working on 'impossible' jigsaw puzzles from now on, but if I spot one that appeals then I'll be picking it up to work on at some point!

Simple felt stuffed pumpkins for Halloween

Today I'm sharing another craft from my recent personal challenge to complete five batch prepped craft projects. This is my third craft - some simple stuffed felt pumpkins for Halloween. 

My pumpkins were made using a free pattern and tutorial from The Yellow Birdhouse - DIY Felt Pumpkins with Free Printable Pattern. It's a simple pattern, easy to follow, and there are plenty of ways that you could customise it. For example, I may re-visit it in the future using bolder colours and printing the pattern in different sizes. This website is filled with beautiful patterns, both free and for sale, and I'll definitely be looking for more ideas when I'm next sorting through my felt stash!

For all of my batched projects I wanted to use only materials that I already owned. So I've used green felt for the leaves instead of fabric, and I chose a thick gold thread for the decoration instead of brown twine. I was a little limited by the colours of the felt that I have remaining in my stash - I've made a few felt Halloween crafts over the years! However, along with plenty of grey and brown felt, I had just enough shades of orange felt to sew together a third pumpkin.

This project does require quite a lot of stuffing - not a problem for me as I have plenty saved from old pillows, but worth noting if you want to try this craft. The pumpkins were very quick to work up, and I love working with felt. The pieces are simply sewn together, the pumpkin is stuffed, then the stalk and leaf are attached with a glue gun. I really like the extra thread that is wrapped around the pumpkin and I think that my leftover Christmas gold cord works really well for a bit of sparkle.

Another craft complete, and another tiny bit of space made in my craft stash cupboard!