Review - Oxygen Oasis DIY Miniature House from Rolife

I received this kit in exchange for a review

Oxygen Oasis is a brand new miniature house kit from Rolife. This advanced miniature kit is a beautiful glass house, packed with luscious tropical plants, flitting butterflies, and filled with gorgeous tiny details. The kit contains 1168 pieces, is recommended for ages 14+, and comes with a six star Master difficulty level. 

You can find full details of the kit here - Rolife Miniature House - Oxygen Oasis.

The Oxygen Oasis kit was definitely the most complex miniature kit that I've assembled. In my Rolife reviews I always say that before you attempt one you should check the difficulty level because there is a large variation. My first kit was Cathy's Flower House, and I've since discovered that it is one of the most difficult Rolife kits along with Elsa's Tailoring! If you are new to miniature modelling kits then this might be one to save until you've gained some practice.

Building the Oxygen Oasis took me several weeks, working on it almost every day. Almost everything is built from scratch, with tiny leaves to be glued to twisted wire stems, delicate wooden pieces that slot together, and plenty of opportunity to put your own stamp on the build.

I must admit that I felt quite intimidated when I opened the box! There are lots of pieces, including plenty of plastic sheets that form the windows. Some of the pieces are very intricate, and I could tell from the contents that there were going to be lots of plants to make - something that I've found very fiddly with these kits in the past.

However the instructions are clear, easy to follow, and lead you in gently. The first part that caught my eye in the main picture was the dome - it looked so complicated with all the curved grass and detailed frames! However by the time I reached it I had already built the simpler back door and the slightly more difficult front door, and so I felt ready to tackle it. And of course it was fine in the end, I just took it slowly, made sure that I had all the parts that I needed ready, and followed the instructions carefully.

The next part of the kit involved making the main base. I always enjoy this part of the kit because you begin to get an idea of the size and shape of the finished piece. As always I got all the parts ready before I started, and there are lots to prepare for this section. It is mostly constructed with wooden pieces but there is also some paper cutting to be done carefully by hand - you'll want a pair of sharp scissors with small points for easy snipping.

Just a note on the glue that is included - most of the Rolife kits that I've worked on aren't supplied with glue, instead you adhere pieces using tiny strips of double sided tape. This kit does include glue and it's fantastic - it has a tiny little nozzle to help with the application and it dries really quickly. Double sided tape is still used for some areas, and again this works very well.

Here is the base section made from the pieces on the tray above:

Next come the various components to add to each side of the base. Some of the work on this kit is quite fiddly and I often found that I needed to use the included tweezers. But there is so much more satisfaction to be gained from building a tiny set of stairs from scratch than just slotting in a pre-made plastic piece!

One the main base is complete it's time to return to building the actual greenhouse, this time by assembling the two side pieces. These were straightforward to put together - the pieces for this section are made of plastic and they snap together easily, then you add plastic sheets to the inside to form the windows. You also add some tiny strip lighting underneath the roof, and all the wires are neatly hidden inside plastic tubing which is glued to the inside.

Now that the structure is assembled it's time to move on to the plants and trees. I knew that this would be the most time consuming part of the build, having spent a lot of time making plants for the Cathy's Flower House kit. You are provided with lots of sheets of pre-cut, double sided paper printed pieces, and some of these leaves are very tiny!

The plants are assembled in groups. Some are fitted into their final sections straightaway and some need to be set aside for a later step. They are labelled by letter and so I found it helpful to lay them out on a sheet of scrap paper against their letter so that I could easily identify them later on.

These plants did take a long time to make! Each of the sections above took several hours. The assembly can be very fiddly - first you have to bend wire into the correct shape, then fold tiny leaves and petals and glue them carefully into place before leaving them to dry thoroughly. I was really grateful here for the excellent glue included in the kit. 

Once I got going the process did speed up. I worked in batches, first getting all the wire bases ready then gluing on the leaves one plant at a time. I used a long strip of Blu-tak on my desk to hold the plants upright while they were drying which was really helpful. 

I found that the labels for the plants were so tiny that I couldn't read them, so I didn't worry too much about making sure that the correct one was attached to each plant. I also tried not to get too frustrated if I was having trouble with the fiddly parts, I think they still look good even if some parts are a little wonky.

Next came some larger plants and trees to build, each of which involves winding together different sized pieces of wire to create stems, trunks and branches, wrapping with coloured tape, and then gluing on the leaves. These pieces took a lot of time to complete, especially waiting for the glue to dry on one side so so that you could add leaves to the other side. It took me over an hour to build the two monstera plants! But I really enjoyed making them, and they all look amazing when they are complete!

When all of the individual pieces had been built it was time for the final assembly. First you need to attach all the plants to the base piece. I'll be honest, this part wasn't easy. Some of the leaves fell off and needed to be reattached, and there was a lot of fiddling around to make sure that the plants all fitted neatly around each other. The kit comes with plenty of a green filler type material that you can add around the base of the plants, but I found it so difficult to get to stick that I didn't use as much as I should have. Luckily you can't really see it from the outside anyway!

Finally you need to fit the glass house structure around the plants, make sure that it all firmly glued down, and add a few final touches around the sides. The wires for the lighting need to be connected to the battery box, a large tree is positioned to the side, a cute cat with a butterfly stuck to its nose stands at the front and some paper parrots add some extra colour.

Adding the vine across the top was one of my favourite parts of the build. I left it until the end, and I really enjoyed placing the last leaves and making it all look exactly how I wanted it to.

The lighting in this kit is rather magical. As well as a larger central light there is also a small light strip underneath each side section. The lights are bright, and I love the way that you can see everything inside really clearly. The clear windows also cast gorgeous shadows on the space around it. The lights are powered using two AAA batteries which you need to supply.

I really loved the opportunity to get stuck in to working on this kit. I found that I could sit for ages carefully twisting wire into the required shapes, adding the leaves with dots of glue, and even just sitting waiting for the glue to dry while admiring what I had built. 

This is probably not the kit to start with if you are new to miniature kit building, but I would absolutely recommend it if you fancy something a bit more challenging. It will definitely feel like value for money when it comes to the time taken to complete it!

What puts a Rolife kit into the more advanced category?

This kit definitely falls into the category of the more difficult Rolife kits. Here are some of the things that make a kit more difficult:

The kits contains a lot more pieces, and most of them are very small and delicate.

Some of the paper cuttings and other materials are not pre-cut, so you need to cut and measure them yourself. There are few, if any, stickers and so most paper pieces need to be glued together.

Overall there is a lot more gluing involved, sometimes quite fiddly. Most of the components need to be built from scratch by attaching tiny pieces together.

Most of the kit is made of natural materials like wood, paper and fabric - there is very little plastic.

There are a lot more steps to the assembly and some stages can take a bit of time, for example if you need to wait for glue or paint to dry.

Note - some of the older kits have been re-issued and are now less challenging than the original kits. 

What I like about working on a difficult kit

For me a craft is all about the process, so when a kit takes longer to put together you have plenty of time to enjoy it. I don't mind waiting for something to dry, it feels much more satisfying than just snapping pieces together.

I feel like a have a little more creative control, for example when it comes to the shaping of plants or the positioning of individual pieces.

Tips for working with a more complex kit

Don't get overwhelmed, and take your time. You will initially open the box to see a huge number of pieces, but each step only uses a few at a time.

Stay organised. Don't remove things from the numbered bags until you need them, and get all the pieces ready for each section before you begin. Set up a workspace with an area to store completed components until you need them.

Work on one step at a time and don't be tempted to skip ahead unless you are completely confident in what you are doing. 

If you aren't sure which piece to use you can double check them against the parts guide. This is very important as some pieces can look very similar.

If you fancy trying one of the more complicated Rolife kits you can find a good selection here - More difficult kits from Rolife.

You may like to see my other Rolife Miniature Craft Kit reviews:

Cathy's Flower House - another complicated kit with lots of plants and flowers to build

Elsa's Tailoring - an intricate kit with lots of fabric pieces to measure and display

Corner Bookstore - a lovely bookshop with assorted tiny books to put together

Silent Corner Study - a really sweet book nook, perfect to display on a bookshelf

Super Creator Kits - Fascinating Bookstore, Lovely Pink Bedroom and Sweet Sips Tea - some simpler kits which are great for older children and those new to this hobby

Gingerbread House - a gorgeous festive shop filled with Christmas treats

Christmas 3D Frames - lovely Christmas decor frames with intricate details

Rolife Corner Bookstore kit

Batch prepping craft projects like you do meals

Recently this video ended up in my feed and I really enjoyed it, so I thought that I would share it:

It's all about batch prepping crafts in advance, so that when you have some time for a crafty project you have everything that you need all in one place to get started. The video shares a few examples of simple craft kits that the creator has put together, including a cross stitch embroidered journal and a paper garland kit. 

I remember a similar idea from back when I used to lurk on scrapbooking forums - people would discuss preparing their pages in advance by gathering together photographs and co-ordinating supplies in a plastic sleeve, ready to put a page together when they had some spare time. 

I thought this was such a great idea! But for me, it's not so much about preparing some new crafts that I want to try, but rather using this technique as a way to use up some of the craft supplies that I have lying around. 

I have my craft supplies stored in various locations around the house - fabric in drawers in my wardrobe, beads in little wooden drawers in my study, patterned papers in the toy cupboard and so on. As well as various unfinished craft projects, mainly cross stitch kits, that are waiting to be continued. When I want to do something I often need to gather things from all over the house, and then return the leftovers once I'm done. 

Photo credit Eric Prouzet via Unsplash

I've been having a think about the craft supplies that I have in my stash, and brainstorming some projects that I can work on to use them up. Some ideas that I have so far - bracelet making using my enormous bead stash, some kind of project that will use up tiny scrap pieces of fabric, finding a use for my patterned paper and collage supplies. 

I'm going to challenge myself to bag up five craft projects, as far as possible using only supplies that I already own, and then complete them by the end of the year. I'll include all the materials that I'll need, as well as any printed instructions or templates. As we head towards Christmas I'll try for some seasonal theming, and I'll attempt to choose projects that will leave a noticeable dent in my crafting stash. 

Watch this space to see what I come up with!

Review - Rolife Miniature House Kit - Corner Bookstore

I was sent this kit in exchange for a review

I love working on Rolife miniature kits, and when I was given the chance to choose another kit to complete I knew straightaway which one I would like to try. The Corner Bookstore miniature house kit is a tiny bookstore, crammed with books and other knick-knacks along with cosy corners and intriguing little nooks. 

This kit is perfect for book lovers, and just like the Silent Corner Study it's a great model to display on a bookshelf. I really like the muted colours, and I love the piles of books and plants.  

The miniature kit comes with everything that you need for assembly, you just need to add two AAA batteries for the lighting kit. Small strips of double sided tape are provided, but I found that it was helpful to have glue on hand, just to make sure that everything was stuck down firmly enough to withstand slight knocks. 

The Corner Bookstore kit has a difficulty rating of 2 1/2 stars and I assembled it in a few hours over about a week. It's always worth checking the difficulty rating of Rolife kits as they do vary, and this is a medium difficulty kit. There are a lot of tiny wooden and cardboard components to slot together and some gentle force was required to get everything into place, there is also a small amount of measuring and modification of parts.

I felt that this was one of the more open-ended kits that I've worked on - you can move away from the instructions a little and really make it your own by arranging the pieces to suit you. Although there is some plastic in the kit, many of the components are made with more natural materials like wood and paper.

The first step is to lay out all the pieces, but don't remove items from the bags as you will use the bag number to find a piece. If you do this by accident there is a materials list and part guide to identify similar looking pieces.

The instructions are really easy to follow and guide you through the assembly process. Each section has a clearly labelled list of the parts required and step-by-step directions. I found it helpful to set aside an area for components after I had finished them - the box works well for this. I also removed rubbish as I went along to keep my workspace clear.

With these kits I try to make sure that I don't rush, I slow down and enjoy the process of putting them together. It's a very meditative activity, and a wonderful way to switch off as you concentrate on what you are doing.

It's a great moment when you can fix the walls in place and the whole thing begins to take its final shape. I really like the way that this kit fits into a corner, and all the tiny props are really imaginative and full of detail.

As you would expect, even a miniature bookstore is going to be filled with books, and I had a lot of fun making the heaps of tiny books to stock the store. This is just a handful of them! They are made by covering a tiny wooden piece with a printed sticker - these books each measure around 1cm across. There are many familiar titles - Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre and The Old Man and the Sea - as well as non-fiction books and a variety of interesting and attractive covers. It seems such a shame that when assembled many of the covers are hidden! 

There is a suggested way to arrange the books, but I found it much easier to just work it out for myself, especially making sure that my favourite books had more prominent positions. But one tip for this kit in particular - take care to keep the different sized books separately as they can appear quite similar.

When the assembly is complete, it's lovely to take a step back and have a proper look at what you've just built - sometimes it's difficult to appreciate the whole when you've been concentrating hard on all the tiny details! I loved assembling the Corner Bookstore kit, and it is a wonderful addition to my miniature house kit collection.

You may like to see my other Rolife Miniature Craft Kit reviews:

Super Creator Kits - Fascinating Bookstore, Lovely Pink Bedroom and Sweet Sips Tea

Cathy's Flower House

Silent Corner Study

Elsa's Tailoring

Gingerbread House

Christmas 3D Frames

Review - Miniature Gingerbread House craft kit from Rolife

I received this kit in exchange for a review

Last week I shared some gorgeous Christmas themed miniature craft kits from Rolife, and today I'm featuring another miniature craft kit from the Christmas collection, the Gingerbread House. 

With this kit you can assemble a Gingerbread House bakery, filled with festive treats that include gingerbread men, candy canes, cocoa and chocolate boxes. It's a 3 star kit which means that it isn't too difficult, but it will take a little more time than the basic kits. Suggested assembly time is around six hours, and I would say that is about right.

The kit contains everything that you need apart from two AAA batteries for the lighting kit, however I did find it useful to have some glue on hand just to make sure that everything is firmly stuck together. Inside the kit you will find plain and coloured wooden boards with snap out pieces, paper cuts and stickers, tiny plastic components, a lighting kit, screwdriver, tweezers, double sided adhesive strips and of course full instructions.

I have to say that I really loved assembling this kit, and I think that it may be my favourite Rolife kit so far. I really enjoyed the festive vibes, and all of the miniature components were really sweet.

One thing that I particularly enjoyed about this kit was that I felt the assembly order worked really well. First you assemble the larger pieces that fit inside the bakery - the dresser, cupboards and so on. I found it a good idea to use one the box lid to store the pieces as I finished them.

 

Then you assemble the structure of the house, putting the walls and door in place (this was a bit like building a real gingerbread house!) and installing the simple lighting kit. Finally you put together the very small pieces and glue them into place on and around the furniture to complete the bakery.

I found the assembly of the kit straightforward and the instructions easy and logical to follow. There were a few times when I felt that I needed some extra glue, although the adhesive strips provided are very sticky. The instructions lead you clearly through each step, and this kit didn't require any measuring or cutting pieces to size which you find in some of the more difficult kits.

I loved all the tiny details in the kit. The little coffee machine with a mug of hot chocolate to go, the tiny cakes and biscuits, the miniature boxes of chocolates in all shapes and sizes. It takes time to spot everything that is packed inside the shop as there is so much attention to detail.

The kit includes a lighting kit which lights up the inside of the shop. The battery box and on/off switch is accessed from the back of the house, it cleverly slots inside one of the cupboards. It looks so good when the light is on, especially on a dark winter's evening when you need a bit of festive cheer.

I can see this Gingerbread House being part of a larger Christmas village, which is something that I've always wanted. You could buy and assemble a kit each year as a festive tradition that builds up into something really spectacular that is much more personal than buying the pieces readymade. There are a few other kits which would fit the theme really well, like the Christmas Candy Stand or the Honey Dessert Talk Miniature House.

I know that this Gingerbread House is going to be a part of our Christmas decor tradition for a long while to come!

A look at some Christmas themed kits from Rolife

I received these kits in exchange for a review

I love crafting for Christmas - mainly for the enjoyment of completing a craft project but also having some unique finished festive decor that I can bring out every Christmas and admire for many years.

I've been sent some gorgeous miniature crafting kits from Rolife to try this Christmas, and so I'm going to share a quick preview before I start my crafting and share the finished results!

First is this DIY Miniature House - Gingerbread House. This lovely kit comes with all sorts of tiny accessories to build a light-up Gingerbread Bakery shop filled with delicious Christmas goodies. I've always wanted a miniature Christmas village and this looks like it could be the perfect start - I can't wait to begin putting it all together! This kit is a 3 star kit so I'm expecting it to be a little more complex than the basic sets, and I know that I'm going to really enjoy assembling it.

Secondly I will be working on these two kits from the Story Frames Series - Christmas Eve Party and Santa's Toy Shop. These two kits are built inside a deep plastic frame which holds the contents and also a lighting kit. Christmas Eve Party features a lovely little Christmas themed interior with a table set with treats, a Christmas tree, and lots of tiny festive decorations. Santa's Toy Shop is the exterior of a toy shop filled with Christmas treasures including decor and toys.

These Christmas frame kits are both 2 star difficulty kits with an estimated build time of two hours, so I could probably complete these in one sitting. But I'll be working on them a little slower because I want to enjoy every minute of the build process! 

I'll be sharing a full review of the kits when I've completed them, but in the meantime I've made a start on the Christmas Eve Party frame kit. I just love the idea of these frames which can be hung on the wall or displayed standing as part of your Christmas decor. They are packed with tiny details, just look at all these sweet little accessories that will be carefully placed into position. I expecially love the tiny gingerbread house!

Assembling the kit is straightforward with clear instructions to follow. The assembly is broken down into individual stages for each component, so you need to gather everything that you need for that step and then carefully follow the guidance to put it together. The kit is designed to be assembled without glue, with the pieces being adhered using small strips of double sided tape. However I liked to keep some glue handy as I wanted the extra security of knowing that things were firmly glued together.

So far I've build a little display case filled with festive plates, a corner display shelf, a chair holding a wooden teddy and a couple of small gifts. The thing I love about these kits is that you can work on them when you have time available, as the short steps mean that you can stop and start at any point. I like to keep everything ready, and then when I have a few spare minutes I can put a few pieces together ready to be placed inside the main frame.

I'm going to be very busy working on these kits, ready to have them on display as part of my Christmas decor!

Review - Rolife miniature kit - Elsa's Tailoring

I received this miniature kit in exchange for a review

Last week I shared an in progress look at the Rolife miniature kit Elsa's Tailoring, and this week I am delighted to share a full review of the completed kit! Elsa's Tailoring is graded with a five star difficulty level, meaning that it is one of the more complex kits available from Rolife. It takes around 8-10 hours to complete, but because it is assembled in small sections you can work on it in short or longer crafting sessions.

The kit contains everything that you need, apart from two AAA batteries. There is no painting and no glue required, as all pieces are adhered using small double sided sticky tape. A display box is available to purchase to keep your creation dust free, and detailed instructions are included.

This is what you receive in the box. As a more advanced kit, I noticed that the wooden pieces are thinner. This makes them a little more delicate when putting them together, but it also means that the overall impression of the finished build becomes more detailed and lifelike. 

Most of the work involves building is all the tiny bits and pieces that are put together to form the complete sewing shop. It's a combination of wooden pieces which are slotted together, cardboard pieces to press out and stick together, stickers, fabric and ribbon pieces to cut to size and some clear plastic windows.

There is a light in the shop which has some simple wiring to a battery box which is hidden in the bottom of the dresser and accessed from the back. 

I found the assembly instructions very clear and easy to follow. The assembly is broken down into lots of small sections, and each part is identified using labelled wooden sheets or stickered plastic bags. I had no problems working out which piece to use, and no missing pieces. 

Some of the assembly in this kit is a little more complicated than the simpler kits that I've worked on. For example this kit has a lot of fabric pieces which need to be cut to size. The size is given in the instructions, and in some cases I found it easier to create a cardboard template which I could use to cut the fabric. It's important to be accurate because the pieces need to fit together exactly.

Although no glue is needed to assemble the kit, I did use some of my own glue. Sometimes just to make sure that pieces were stuck firmly together, sometimes because I just found it easier as the little strips of tape can be a little fiddly. The tape was however excellent for sticking together any fabric pieces, for example the display dress on the stand which has ribbon around the base. The included tweezers were also very helpful, especially for the final positioning of pieces.

I love all the tiny details in the kit. I think that my favourite accessory is the ribbon holder display with miniature rolls of ribbon. I also love the little sewing machine and tiny scissors. Some elements are put together yourself, like the rolls of ribbon and the bundles of fabric, others are provided readymade, like the scissors and the necklace. The gold accent pieces really make the kit sparkle.

I loved completing this kit. Like all the Rolife kits, it's a really relaxing activity that you can work on whenever you have a few moments to sit down at it, and when complete it looks great on display.

If you are interested in trying a Rolife kit for yourself, you can receive a 10% discount on the Rolife website by using my code Jennifer10.

Review - Rolife miniature kit Elsa's Tailoring - a progress post

I received this miniature craft kit in exchange for a review

A couple of weeks ago I shared my review of the Rolife Miniature Kit Silent Corner Study. I loved putting this kit together, it didn't take too long but it was complicated enough to keep my interested and the finished miniature book nook is gorgeous. 

Now I'm moving on to the second kit which I received to review - Elsa's Tailoring.  

The Elsa's Tailoring kit is graded with a five star difficulty level. This means that it is more intricate and will take a little longer to complete. Opening the kit I could see that it contained a wider range of materials - as well as the wooden pieces, stickers, card cutouts and plastic accessories there is also ribbon and fabric pieces. The wooden sheets are thinner and the pieces are finer and more delicate.

This kit begins with the assembly of many small components. I just love all the tiny details! My favourite part so far is the little ribbon spool holder which you can see on the left of the white display case in the photograph below. It's so tiny and perfect! The display case and the dresser will be filled with accessories when the kit is completed.

There is definitely more work required when assembling this kit. All of the fabric pieces need to be cut to size, so I needed to make a template using a ruler before cutting. It requires a bit more thought and concentration than just slotting together wooden pieces.

The instructions are easy to follow and comprehensive, but you do often need to pay attention to the direction a piece is facing or the order in which to put parts together. No glue is required for this kit as pieces are stuck together using the supplied double sided tape.

My favourite part when putting together a miniature house kit is getting the main structure together! You can see that the light fixture is in place on the left side wall, this was really easy to assemble. The battery box is hidden at the back, it cleverly slots inside the base of the dresser. You need to provide two AAA batteries and there is a very small amount of simple wiring to do, just connecting two sets of wires and threading it through at the back to keep it secure.

The next steps are to build lots more tiny components, and then it's a case of putting everything in the correct place and making sure that it is all firmly stuck together ready for display.

I love that these Rolife kits are broken down into many small sections, so as long as you have some space to leave everything out you can come easily back to it after a break and add a little more. It's perfect for people that don't have the chance to sit down with a craft for hours, but have odd moments throughout the day when they can spend a few minutes working on it.

I will share a full update and review when I've completed the kit!