Review on 🌸 Craft the Perfect Flower Dollhouse with Rolife's Best Wooden Puzzle by Todd Gill

I've never made one of these kits and I feel like I've missed out on the fun of my life! Given the current quarantine, I've decided to entertain myself. I've probably made it about 2/3 of the way and I've found that patience is KEY! If you find yourself getting frustrated, put it aside. Go away, do something else for a while. First it is presented in a beautiful box, everything is wrapped and clearly labeled. I didn't lose anything and actually received a duplicate package with tweezers, battery pack and flashlight. When I saw it I was just amazing. I will miss another bag with matching items. No, just cheating. The quality of the parts is quite decent. The printed pieces of paper are of very good quality for paper images. There are many pieces of paper that you need to glue together with extra wire etc. What about instructions? Well, it's a mixed bag. I found the most frustrating part was assembling the garden steps. I knew how to build it. I understood the how and why and the end goal. But try to imagine the weird pieces upside down when you pick them up (the piece, not you, unless you're a bat?). It was a little awkward. The step paper already cut and folded helped the process and allowed me to visualize it more correctly. But I had to break the steps twice. To be honest there are probably a dozen ways these steps could have been designed to make assembly easier. Photos in directions are very small and a bit blurry. For stages and other assembled parts, it would be more useful to have an "expanded" look rather than a blurry image. I also found the presentation of the dimensions for cutting hard paper and wire very confusing. I don't know if it was just how it was laid out on the paper or if it was just that small. or what. It's not difficult at all. My conclusions: (for those who are new to this business like me) 1.) Take scissors with spring parts, it helps a lot to get rid of hand fatigue when cutting all colors. I have a pair of Fiskar spring clippers. 2.) Don't be afraid to change or think outside the box. 3.) Don't worry if you ruin a piece of paper. There's nothing paint, nail polish, scrapbook paper, or mini Google Printables can't fix. 4.) MEASURE TWICE / CUT ONCE! Good time to learn metrics. lol5.) I used both the original Aleene Tacky glue (gold bottle) and the Fast Grab version. I found that the supplied glue was too viscous. 6.) The included tweezers are fine, but I have detail tweezers that have very fine tips and are curved. Very convenient. My changes: 1.) I wrapped all the wire for the gate in brown floral tape (before cutting and bending anything). That makes it more massive, more rustic. My main reason was to make it easier to glue and paint. I really liked the look, instead of painting the tape (which feels a bit tacky) I sprayed it with clear sealant. GLUING WAS MUCH EASIER than just wire! Definitely a preference. 2.) I covered the steps and main base with ballast and static grass (courtesy of my husband, a petite botanist). I think it helped a lot. 3.) I also painted the little side fence pieces a bit. Increases the contrast and makes it better. I only used acrylic paints. 4.) For paper or cardboard cuts. I took an alcohol marker (you can use a marker or something similar) in a neutral or similar color and traced all the edges. This takes the sharpness off the white edge of the paper and makes it smoother, IMHO. I think that's all for now. When I'm done I'll post a photo and update. I really liked this project. I'm a bit surprised that everything fits together so well. Keeps me from watching the news at home all day during quarantine. I've been dealing with this for a few days now. It will probably be another week before I get it the way I like it.