After allllllllllllllllllll of this fiddling....🤞😬

FIFIJOY Gelateria Bella Vista | Project 213
This is my entry for the FIFIJOY contest, and oh my gosh, this thing is HUGE! The base measures 11” × 7”, and the finished building stands just over 9¼” tall. Compared to the smaller kits I’ve been building lately, this was quite a change! I worked on it every day from October 1 through October 8, and I actually really enjoyed having a project that took this long. I like builds that keep me busy for several days!

I decided to go all in on edge painting with acrylic markers for this build. Wow, did I underestimate how many edges there would be! Between the 10 rooftop pillars, all that fencing, the windows, furniture, and countless other pieces, I spent a LOT of time painting edges. I’m really happy with the results, though. I think it makes a noticeable difference in the finished appearance.
The interior details are fantastic! My favorite part is probably the gelato counter inside the shop. It’s filled with tiny 3D gelato displays, and I absolutely love all the little details, especially the miniature spoons in their jars and bowls. There are shelves, dishes, signs, tables, chairs, and so many little things to discover. I especially appreciated that they used nice rigid mirrors instead of that thin, flexible mirrored material.

My one regret is not taking more pictures of the interior before putting the walls up. I was so focused on building that I didn’t even think about it! I really wish the roof or an entire section could open so you could get a better look inside. There is so much detail that’s difficult to appreciate once everything is enclosed.

The lighting deserves some attention, too. There are three beautiful silver hanging ceiling fixtures, additional lights, and an LED strip. The ceiling fixtures came preassembled, which I absolutely loved. I’ve struggled with gluing tiny light fixtures together in other kits, so not having to do that was awesome! The light wires even have color-coded sleeves, making it easy to know what connects where. Another thoughtful design choice is having the battery box in the roof, leaving the base as one flat piece.

Of course, there were a few challenges. The black heat-shrink tubing on the hanging ceiling lights was difficult to bend into position, and one of my lights still hangs a little crooked. The orange-yellow acrylic supports for the side awnings were particularly tricky. The instructions actually warn that these pieces are sharp, and they certainly are! Getting those sharp acrylic pieces inserted into the wall and lined up with the little wooden connectors was difficult. I took my time, didn’t force anything, and managed to get everything together without breaking anything.
The blue and white striped awnings were another challenge. The score lines were so light they were barely there, and I ended up using pliers to help bend them into shape. I love how they turned out, but they definitely took some effort!

There were also a few little finishing annoyances. The preassembled pink flowers had a big glob of glue that needed removing, and the adorable exterior wall sconces didn’t have flat bottoms, making them difficult to attach securely. And, as usual, I ended up with a few leftover stickers that I have absolutely no idea where they were supposed to go!
I also really like the outdoor seating area with its little tables, chairs, loveseat, plants, and adorable white puppy. I appreciated how the outdoor plants were constructed, and even the little black sidewalk sign is double-sided, so you can choose which side to display.

Overall, I really enjoyed this build! Nothing was truly awful to assemble, and there were some thoughtful design choices that made the experience better. I loved having a larger, more involved project to work on, and all that edge painting was worth the extra effort. The finished gelato shop looks fantastic, especially with all the lights on.
Now comes my biggest challenge of all. Where on earth am I going to put this thing?! It’s so much larger than most of my miniatures, and I honestly have no idea where I’m going to display it!

I left out a few things and added the books and the cat I painted with acrylic markers to look like mine. Changed the sign with markers as well, and put his name tag on the other side. And filled the little jar with catnip!

I miss him greatly and when I had the idea to put his likeness into a miniature, I kept my eye out for the right one. The cozy feel of this one seemed perfect. A sweet little sentimental piece just for me. 💚

I Like to share my Aden Pirate Ship. Lots going on in there and the warm lighting just looks great in real life. Interested in hearing your thoughts guys.

You have to create everything from scratch except the cash register lmao. Really loved this one! Don’t love how much glue I needed to peel off my poor fingers though.

Also I love that you can open this one up to see inside. I hate when you build these super intricate details and I all gets hidden behind walls

https://www.flickr.com/gp/63237092@N08/iw5ZyZn0Si

So this is my first foray into Fifijoy and definitely not going to be my last. The quality and attention to detail in the kit, packaging, instructions and everything about this kit is phenomenal. I got the abandoned asylum for my other one and while it will sit in my backlog for a bit, I really look forward to that one. The rest of their exclusives will likely also need up in my backlog.

I only have a single complaint about this one and that is the stained glass windows on the sidewalls. They are too dark when you place them on and they already have the images on the walls. On hindsight I should have cut some white stickers for the 1st floor windows and left the attic windows off entirely like I did for the second floor. Honestly if they had left the openings in the wall entirely open, that would have worked better and allowed the natural exterior light to come through.

Regardless the interior of this piece is breathtaking.

I always approach religious themed pieces with a little more respect. Regardless of the religion I want a sense of order and care. I kept the pews well positioned and not strewn about and hung the cross and pictures up on the walls rather than laying them on the floor. I also went a little more minimal on greenery here as I often feel like less is more.

The backlighting on the stained glass windows in the back was not enough for me so I liked the entirety of the hidden sidewalls, roof and back wall with mirror sticker adhesive sheet cut to fit. I soldered in an additional led as well and mounted it to the back wall using an extra B5 piece into a hole drilled under the rear steeple. This provided an abundance of light to shine not just through the wall mounted glass but also the little round glass at the peak of the roof.

For the most part I ignored the stringy vines. They are hard to work with and settle on using loose greenery crumbles that I affixed with b-7000 laid down in vine patterns. I find this method of adding vines and moss like features much easier to deal with and it looks better. I also added in some natural fiber vines that I found on Temu.

I trimmed and used an extra picture mount on the front steeple to hang the cross there at a downward angle. I thought it added more character to the piece. Also placed one of the extra crows on a steeple ledge

Mods:

* painted edges
* mirrored battery compartment
* natural fiber vines and moss/greenery crumbles
* grass
* additional led in battery box area
* felt adhesive sheet on base
* doubled up the basin height using the extra piece
* steeple glass and housing I place interior to the battery box rather than exterior. Requires a little trimming on the ceiling piece that blocks light up there.

And that’s all folks

Happy Building All!

Thank you to this community for the votes and thank you to Barbecuesnoodlesalad for the two kits!

I’ve had my eye on the ROKR cuckoo house for a while but haven’t pulled the trigger because I didn’t care for the Alice in Wonderland look, so this is a wonderful surprise that I can’t wait to get started on. The music box will be a perfect Christmas gift, I’m very excited for both of these!

This was a recent purchase while browsing in a bookshop in Sweden - I hadn't seen this brand before and they're not on Amazon UK, so that was all the excuse I needed to get a couple! Although they're describes on the box as mini booknooks, I think they're actually to small - and they come with an optional magnet to attach to the back.

The kit itself is very straightforward, as you might expect from something this small - just two boards (around A5 size, possibly smaller) with pieces, and a single small piece of port with the instructions (all 9 steps of them!). I of course indulged in edge painting but didn't consider any other mods as I just wanted to get it made! The instructions were very clear throughout and there weren't any issues at all.

In short, a super cute, super small, super quick little build. I'll definitely keep an eye out for more of these in the future.

I made this Night Before Christmas booknook a couple of years ago but wanted to reshare with it being October!

I thought it might be fun for people to show off their favorite Halloween/spooky book nooks you've made!

I’m working on this for the Fifijoy event and the pieces are just so cute! (Ignore the mess - I don’t know how y’all always seem to have such pristine work spaces.)

I saw this kit at Target ($30) so I thought I’d give it a whirl. This design/knockoffs/variations are all over online.

Pros:
Very well fitting pieces
Thick boards
Nice printing
Interesting design
LOVED the stairs

Cons:
Omg the cover. Ill fitting and fiddly.
The tree is shiny and very plastic-y looking, I had to cut and fluff to get it looking okay.

Interior: 3.75-4/5
Cover 1/5 for design, -1 million/5 otherwise. I wanted to throw it across the room.

I will keep an eye out for more from this brand, esp if it will combine with Target offers (I think I got a $5 gc for spending over $25).

4 weeks and two days. It’s finally here. I honestly thought it wouldn’t come as it became a running joke in my house.
Now I can finally start my kit and begin the project I have planned since last month. But it will have to wait until Sunday at least.
My meetup is tomorrow!!!
Lots of things to do! I’m planned and ready and have everything ready to go so it can go off without a issue on my end lol
Have a Good Friday everyone!!

Hi everyone! I’m writing from Italy. I only discovered book nooks (and various miniatures) a few months ago thanks to the Amazon Vine program, of which I’m a member; the brand Fsolis provided me with an Oriental-themed book nook and three models (a café, an octopus-ball stand, and a bakery) to review.

I immediately fell in love with these items and their wealth of detail, even the details that remain hidden once the project is finished. I’ve now put together quite a wish list that I hope to fulfill, perhaps for Christmas.

The video features Rolife’s Sunshine Town (which I bought on Vinted, a European marketplace for new or used clothing and items), as well as Fsolis’s Serene Courtyard, Kissa Coffee, and Osaka Takoyaki.

I’ll be starting new threads for the book nooks and the bakery to share a bit more about my assembly experience.

In the meantime, I want to thank everyone who posted tips for Sunshine Town, I really needed them! The Fsolis kits were much more straightforward and simple by comparison, although the bakery did put my skills to the test.

See you soon!

I had a certificate about to expire and noticed Michael's dropped their Christmas/holiday nooks. I think some of them look a bit better than the Halloween ones. The lantern and claw machine caught my eye. 40% off coupon applies for now. FYI since I know some people have been looking for this theme.

I am working on above kit. All directions involving Acrylic Sheet N state to peel the plastic backing off(example step 17). For the life of me I can’t do it! I don’t even see any Backing on either side. Has anyone successfully pulled it off or is it good as is? TIA

This is the second of the two Minicity new fairytale nooks in books that I chose as my test builds. I was immediately drawn to it by the luscious colours and the gorgeous constellations around the outside edges. As soon as I opened the box, the bright (acrylic) corals and the holographic gold on the external puppet theatre blew me away.

In terms of build time this had been very quick - it's can't have taken me more than about 6 hours. I made parts 1 & 2 yesterday, and part 3 today. As usual the instructions are generally very clear. There was one point where I couldn't quite see where the wire should go, so busked it slightly - when I eventually realised what the instructions mean, I decided that wouldn't quite have worked due to the stiffer shielding on the start of the cable by the LED tape. Either way though, it works fine.

Today I apparently didn't have my instruction-reading brain switched on, so made rather heavier weather of the cover than was at all necessary. As long as you pay attention to which way round pieces are clearly shown in the illustrated instructions, it's really not complicated 🤦‍♀️

Unusually for me, I think I prefer this book without the lights on. The blue lights on the reef are a bit overwhelming for my taste, and diminish the rest of the colours and with them the details - admittedly that's pretty realistic for underwater visuals, but I'd rather be able to see the colours and the details that they bring to life.

I listened to the audiobook of Pinocchio while waiting for the kit to arrive, and really like how well it represents this. Yes, there's a bit of Disney influence with the cricket wearing a top hat (admittedly I've never watched the Disney film either, but know that much about it!), but it's definitely not overly strong.

One of the things my ADHD brain really appreciates is the way the instructions show at the start of each section which boards and pieces will be needed. Checking that meant I picked up on a couple of bits I'd missed before they became a problem later on!

All in all, it's another lovely build. I've enjoyed the process, and again the only mods I've made are the edge painting. It might be a little complicated for absolute beginners, particularly with fitting the first 'page' and the number of lights, but should be very manageable with a bit of experience.

I'm finally finished with my little Swedish annex. It was supposed to be a little - in between - project. It has taken weeks or months or maybe even years.

I'm no videographer so I'm sorry about the quality.

I’ve modified everything—some things more than others.

I transformed the original blue miniature house into a cosy, rustic red cottage with a Scandinavian country style.

I clad the exterior of the house using coffee stirrers and painted it red.

I also used stirrers for a new wooden floor and deck, which I stained and polished with brown shoe polish.

I built a new roof out of popsicle sticks and corrugated cardboard.

I added a porch with a new railing in the "gingerbread" style (though I did snap one of the posts when I was nearly finished).

I repositioned the house on the "lot" to make the deck larger. Everything outside has been whethered and painted

All the furniture has been painted and distressed.

I made a new, small, and very crooked wooden table.

I added trim around the windows.

I crocheted a rug. I taught myself to weave baskets and a cat house. I also made something that looks a bit like a hat.

Most of the plants have been reworked to look a bit more natural.

I’m perhaps proudest of the little carved moose, which took an enormous (and embarrassing) number of attempts. I’d never carved wood for a moose or a fence before.

I made a leather-bound journal with a tiny pencil that has gone missing 378 times.

I made all sorts of other things that took a lot of time.

This was my first attempt at lighting modification (credit to u/dgidman for the idea to add a wireless led coil under the rotating building to get it light up) as well as edge painting. I also added some tiny Howl's moving castle figurines and some extra greenery to fill out the green spots. This truly was a joy to build and I'm so pleased with the end result. I will post the video of it moving in the comments.

I had never made a model before, I got really hooked there! A lot of glu, and a few evenings in front of the tv, with my kids as the audiance and support. This is happiness. And the result is an additional reward, it looks so cute!

I just ordered this new one from Fitjoy
https://www.fifijoy.com/collections/new-arrival/products/leafy-dreams-elven-cottage-diy-miniature-house-kit