Bailey J. Thompson's Blog

Easter 2020

We know that a lot of our friends have had to cancel their traditional Easter plans this weekend. Which is why we wanted to host our very own virtual Easter weekend. Inviting YOU to participate in some of our favorite Easter traditions. We knew it wouldn’t be the same as seeing your family, but maybe we made you smile even once.

Take a look at the festivities!

Our favorite Easter tradition!

Easter Egg Hunt 1

How Many Eggs Are In This Photo?

Hover for the Answer

The Answer is....

11!

Easter Egg Hunt 2
Louie: There’s more in the living room!

How Many Eggs Are In This Photo?

Hover for the Answer

The Answer is....

15!

Easter Egg Hunt 3
Louie: Even more in the kitchen!

How Many Eggs Are In This Photo?

Hover for the Answer

The Answer is....

12 + 5 in his basket!

Easter Egg Hunt 4
Steel wanted a turn too!

How Many Eggs Are In This Photo?

Hover for the Answer

The Answer is....

14!

Milo: This is what your Easter basket looks like when you become an adult. Thanks Mom!

How Many Eggs Are In This Photo?

Hover for the Answer

The Answer is....

3!

The best part of Easter has always been the Dessert Line up…. so we weren’t about to let that tradition go!

The post Easter 2020 appeared first on Gerbil Meets Mouse Publishing.

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Published on April 13, 2020 09:03

Petri’s Elf 2017- Week 2

Petri’s elf made an appearance for his second week. Oh how we love discovering what he has come up with at night! Petri still needs your help finding him throughout the next few weeks before Christmas… follow us on Facebook here to help Petri each day!

And… incase you missed it, the post for each elf hiding spot week 1 is here!

December 8

December 9

December 10

December 11

December 12

December 13

December 14

The post Petri’s Elf 2017- Week 2 appeared first on Gerbil Meets Mouse Publishing.

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Published on December 14, 2017 07:12

Petri’s Elf 2017 – Week 1

Petri’s elf is back for another 24 days of shenanigans! Take a look at what the elf got up to, in his first week at Mocha and Petri’s dollhouse.

If you haven’t already, be sure to follow us on facebook to stay up to date with Petri’s elf each morning!

December 1

The elf made a debut, coming out of the playroom closet!

December 2

December 3

December 4

December 5

December 6

December 7

The post Petri’s Elf 2017 – Week 1 appeared first on Gerbil Meets Mouse Publishing.

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Published on December 12, 2017 13:53

Behind the Scenes: Melvin’s Tiki Bar

Almost a year after this photo was taken, I thought it might be fun to show you the entire process as to how it came to be. It’s definitely one of my favorite photos that I have taken in the last five years, and I thought it might be interesting to see how many steps actually go into producing one photograph!

I have posted variations of this photo on social media, but it also appears in October of our 2017 Calendar.

The Inspiration

Some of my miniature scenes/rooms begin with a miniature object so amazing that it deserves to have an entire room built around it. This was the case with the miniature Tiki Bar… which began with a miniature bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream. One of those miniatures I just had to have because… well… it had my name on it!

I had owned the miniature bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream for about a year before it finally hit me. Sometimes that’s how it happens… an idea just hits you. And suddenly I was dreaming of miniature tiki bars, and Melvin at the beach.

The Starting Point

I started by doing some research and drawings… trying to capture what I envisioned. Usually this consists of printing out a few pictures on the internet of real items/rooms, and then taking bits and pieces from how they were made in real to re-create the vision in miniature. Then, I cut out pieces of paper to represent each piece so that I can piece it all together before I actually start cutting wood. I don’t actually have any pictures of this particular process, unfortunately.

The next step was to source materials, I knew I wanted bamboo and as it happened, there were some people giving away a bunch of bamboo sticks on my local buy/sell site.

Once I have all of my materials in place, the drawings set… I’m ready to begin!

Step Two

Cutting the base was actually pretty easy because I had already created the look with paper. I knew the size I wanted, and all that needed to be done was cut the wood to size. I actually used some spare pieces from a dollhouse kit that hadn’t been used on the dollhouse. The wood was glued together with a mixture of wood and hot glue, and then wood filler was used to smooth the wood and fill any inconsistencies or cracks. I also drilled holes where I imaged the largest bamboo sticks (which would hold up the roof) would go.

PAUSE! I ended up leaving it like this as we ended up going on vacation for two weeks. As much as I dislike leaving projects unfinished, the weeks gave me extra time to think about what I wanted, and how I would built it… it also gave me a reason to look forward to coming home!

Getting Back to It

Almost as soon as I got home, the base was painted. Sanded. Re-painted until I achieved a smooth enough finish.

The next process was done overnight. I don’t know about you, but I’m the type of person that gets the best creative ideas after the rest of the world has fallen asleep. Step one was to add the main 4 poles that would level the entire piece, and keep everything together. Once it was level, the pieces were glued underneath to ensure they stayed in place for the rest of the process.

The next step was to cut all of the front, side and back bamboo pieces to the exact same size, and glue them under the counter. Once they were glued on, I added a large piece of wood behind them to hold them all in place, as well as trim at the very bottom to hide inconsistencies and splinters.

Finally, I added the roof shape. This was more difficult than it seemed. I ended up using hot glue to make sure everything was stuck and then wrapped hemp around to hide the glue. I actually like the way it looked.

This is also where I added the piece of wood at the back, which is where the shelves wound up.

The Roof

I was able to get some hay from a neighbor. Would you believe it if I told you that each strip of hay was individually placed and glued one-by-one. At the end, I cut the bottoms so they were all imperfectly the same length. This process took over three hours (four episodes of Criminal Minds).

I couldn’t resist putting some bottles up there to see what it would look like when the roof was finally done! There’s that Bailey’s Irish Cream bottle that inspired the whole thing!

Time to Photograph

The next part was exciting. As soon as the tiki bar was finished, I knew I wanted the photograph to be taken on a beach somewhere. It would be the first time I had ever photographed “on location” with a gerbil.

On the day of the photograph, my boyfriend and I set out to the local beach with Melvin in his travel carrier, the tiki bar, an old end table, some sanitized sand, treats, a box of miniatures to decorate the tiki bar with, my camera, a tripod and a flash.

The Set-Up

I didn’t want Melvin to be exposed to the beach sand in case of mites, or anything else that could be hiding in there. So we set up an end table, spread out the sanitized sand on it and placed it so that it blended into the lake. It actually worked better than I had expected.

Introducing… Melvin

Melvin was AMAZING. We actually got the final photo in under 25 photos (let’s compare that to an average photoshoot which can be up to 550 photos over 4-5 days). My boyfriend sat to the right to help ensure that Melvin didn’t escape and/or nobody’s animal came out of no where to investigate, and also re-direct Melvin to the tiki bar in case he ventured off. Oh, and re-set the miniatures that Melvin’s tail sent flying!!

Like I said, the photoshoot lasted under 25 photos which was under 10 minutes so we were able to get in and out of there before anyone really took notice as to what we were doing. In the end, the photos were some of my favorites – ever!

And… Just because I knew you’d ask…

An Out-Take

Hope you enjoyed the process of how this photo came to be.

The post Behind the Scenes: Melvin’s Tiki Bar appeared first on Gerbil Meets Mouse Publishing.

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Published on July 10, 2017 14:03

Mocha and Petri Try Geometic Painting

Spring is here and Mocha and Petri have been eager to add some bright colours to their dollhouse. Geometric painting seemed like a great way to start!

In case you want to try one of your own, you’ll need…

A canvas in any size
Quality painters tape
As many colours as you wish to use and a paint brush for each colour

Petri started with his painting – he already had some great ideas. Mocha helped apply the tape.

Next up was two coats of paint in each section.

While Petri’s canvas was drying, Mocha applied his tape, and two layers of paint.

They let both of their canvases sit for at least an hour to make sure it was dry before they removed their tape.

The post Mocha and Petri Try Geometic Painting appeared first on Gerbil Meets Mouse Publishing.

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Published on April 08, 2017 17:46

This Gerbil Has His Own Elf – Part 3

This post continues from our previous posts. If you missed them and would like to see all of the pictures of Petri’s elf from December 1-17, visit Part 1 or Part 2.

December 18 – Can I play too?

December 19- Colouring a picture!

December 20 – Whatcha listenin’ to?

December 21 – Head Start on Christmas Baking

December 22 – Early Presents!

December 23 – This elf is Preparing for his vacation in ONE DAY!

December 24- BYE!

Thanks for joining in our 2016 Elf Fun. We had so much fun finding our little Elf – hopefully you will join us again on Facebook or Instagram next year.

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The post This Gerbil Has His Own Elf – Part 3 appeared first on Gerbil Meets Mouse Publishing.

View more on Bailey J. Thompson's website »

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Published on December 24, 2016 19:57

This Gerbil Has His Own Elf! – Part 2 – 2016

We’re willing to bet Petri is the only gerbil who has been searching for an elf each morning this December. If you missed our first post, which showed where Petri found his elf from December 1-8, you can read it here.

This post will continue off from there, showing Petri’s elf from Decembr 9-17th.

December 9 – Scrabble Tile Swing!

December 10 – Can I Share Some Smoothie?

December 11 – WEEEE!

December 12 – 52 Pick Up (Elf Idea!)

December 13 – This Elf DID come from the north pole!

December 14 – Warming up on a cold day!

December 15 – How did that happen?!

December 16 – Help Find Petri’s Candy Canes!

Help Petri find all his Candy Canes – Full Post HERE.

December 17 -Dino-deer (Or Reinsaurs!)

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If you’re following us on Facebook or Instagram, you may have noticed that Petri asked for help finding his Elf each Read more…

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Can you help Petri find all of the candy canes that his elf hid? So far, he found ONE in Read more…

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We’re willing to bet Petri is the only gerbil who has been searching for an elf each morning this December. Read more…

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This post continues from our previous posts. If you missed them and would like to see all of the pictures Read more…

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Petri’s elf is back for another 24 days of shenanigans! Take a look at what the elf got up to, Read more…

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Petri’s elf made an appearance for his second week. Oh how we love discovering what he has come up with Read more…

The post This Gerbil Has His Own Elf! – Part 2 – 2016 appeared first on Gerbil Meets Mouse Publishing.

View more on Bailey J. Thompson's website »

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Published on December 19, 2016 22:11

Petri’s Elf Has Hidden Candy Canes!

Can you help Petri find all of the candy canes that his elf hid?

So far, he found ONE in his bed drawer. How many more do you see?

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Can you help Petri find all of the candy canes that his elf hid? So far, he found ONE in Read more…

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Petri’s elf made an appearance for his second week. Oh how we love discovering what he has come up with Read more…

The post Petri’s Elf Has Hidden Candy Canes! appeared first on Gerbil Meets Mouse Publishing.

View more on Bailey J. Thompson's website »

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Published on December 16, 2016 08:32

Help Petri Find His Elf – Part 1 – 2016

If you’re following us on Facebook or Instagram, you may have noticed that Petri asked for help finding his Elf each morning. Here are Petri’s Elf’s hiding spots for the first week. If you didn’t help Petri this week, there’s still time to join us on Facebook or Instagram and help him in the coming weeks.

November 30 – Practice Makes Perfect