Craftime Podcast Episode 03: Even Grogu and the Mandalorian Need an Ice Cream Break

Craftime Episode 03

In this episode of Craftime, we meet Michelle, an “eternal student” and passionate maker from Topaz Lake, Nevada. From resin art and clay to painting, miniatures, and 3D printing, Michelle shows us how creativity can move freely across different crafts, mediums, and unexpected ideas.

Listen to the Full Episode

Prefer listening to the full conversation? Listen to Craftime Episode 03: Even Grogu and the Mandalorian Need an Ice Cream Break — Exploring Craft Arts with No Boundaries on your favorite podcast platform.

About This Episode

What do Baby Yoda, Jason Momoa, resin art, clay, painting, and 3D printing have in common? At first glance, absolutely nothing. But for makers, creativity has a funny way of connecting worlds that seem completely unrelated.

In this episode, Patrick speaks with Michelle, a passionate artist who believes that every challenge is an opportunity to learn. In her own words, she is an “eternal student” — someone who keeps following curiosity, learning new skills, and discovering new forms of self-expression.

Michelle’s creative journey has moved across many mediums. She has worked in music, photography, fitness, nursing, resin art, clay, painting, miniatures, and 3D printing. Each craft may look different on the surface, but for her, they all share something important: they help her express emotions, explore ideas, and find happiness through making.

The conversation also explores one of Michelle’s most memorable miniature projects: a gelato stall enhanced with clay, painted details, realistic flooring, and a surprise visit from Grogu and the Mandalorian. What started as a simple miniature scene became a playful example of how inspiration can arrive when you least expect it.

Rolife Gelato Stall DIY Miniature House DS052

At its heart, this episode is about creativity without boundaries. It is about mixing mediums, learning from mistakes, following spontaneous ideas, and allowing one hobby to open the door to another.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode

• How Michelle uses different crafts as forms of self-expression.
• Why she calls herself an artist rather than defining herself by one medium.
• How building miniatures helped improve her sense of color, detail, and dexterity.
• Why resin art, clay, painting, miniatures, and 3D printing can all be part of the same creative flow.
• How Michelle used 3D printing to create a Jason Momoa-inspired character for an underwater scene.
• How her gelato stall project turned into a playful scene featuring Grogu and the Mandalorian.
• Why mistakes, frustration, and challenges are part of learning any new craft.
• What advice Michelle would give to beginners who feel intimidated by trying something new.

Meet the Guest

Michelle

Michelle is a passionate maker from Topaz Lake, Nevada. She describes herself as an “eternal student” because she loves learning new things and challenging herself through different forms of creativity.

Before exploring miniature art, Michelle worked in music for more than 20 years as a professional singer. She also became a professional photographer, a fitness instructor, and a nurse. Over time, her curiosity led her into resin art, clay, painting, miniature building, and 3D printing.

Michelle’s first Rolife project with her children was Honey Dessert Talk. That build helped her discover a creative side of herself that she had not fully recognized before. Since then, crafting has become a way for her to express emotion, build confidence, and connect with herself and her family.

Memorable Moments

1. Discovering creativity through miniatures

Michelle says she did not realize how creative she was until her children introduced her to Rolife. Their first project together, Honey Dessert Talk, became a turning point.

Through miniature crafting, she found a new way to express herself and discovered that creativity was not limited to music or one specific medium.

2. Every craft as self-expression

For Michelle, resin art, clay, painting, miniatures, and music all serve the same deeper purpose. They help her express her emotions, mood, and personality.

Whether she is feeling happy, calm, or challenged, making art gives her a way to turn those feelings into something visible and meaningful.

3. When one skill improves another

Michelle explains that working with miniatures helped improve her visual sense, color awareness, and hand dexterity. Before crafting, green was simply green. After building and painting, she began noticing different shades, blends, and color possibilities.

Her nursing background also helped her work carefully with small details, while miniature crafting helped her develop even greater precision with her hands.

4. Bringing Jason Momoa into an underwater scene

One of Michelle’s unexpected ideas came while working on an underwater scene. She felt something was missing, then suddenly thought of adding the “king of Atlantis.” That idea led her to create a Jason Momoa-inspired figure using 3D printing.

The process was technical and challenging, but it also showed her that she could learn something completely new through research, patience, and persistence.

5. Giving Grogu and the Mandalorian an ice cream break

Michelle’s gelato stall project became one of the most playful examples of her creative approach. She enhanced the gelato texture with modeling clay, added glossy finishes, created realistic stone flooring, and then felt the scene needed characters. 

The next day, inspiration arrived: Grogu and the Mandalorian. In Michelle’s imagination, even galaxy-saving heroes deserve a little ice cream break.

6. Learning through mistakes

Michelle is honest about the frustration that comes with learning. 3D printing was especially overwhelming at first. Sometimes a figure would print with only one leg, a missing eye, or unexpected flaws.

But instead of giving up, she kept researching, experimenting, and trying again. For her, mistakes are not signs of failure. They are part of the learning process.

7. Challenges as opportunities

Michelle believes that challenges help us grow. When we overcome a difficult step, the satisfaction is immense, and that experience builds confidence beyond the craft itself.

As she explains, if you can conquer creative challenges, you may begin to feel capable of conquering other challenges in life too.

Why This Story Matters

Michelle’s story reminds us that creativity does not need to stay inside one category. A person can be a singer, nurse, painter, miniature builder, resin artist, and 3D printing beginner all at once.

For many makers, one hobby naturally leads to another. A miniature kit can inspire painting. Painting can lead to color exploration. A missing character in a scene can lead to 3D printing. A simple gelato stall can become a tiny story about Grogu and the Mandalorian taking a break from saving the galaxy.

This is the beauty of craft arts with no boundaries. Creativity does not always arrive through careful planning. Sometimes it appears suddenly, asks us to follow, and leads to something more magical than expected.

Michelle’s advice is simple but powerful: do one thing at a time, choose something that brings you happiness, be kind to yourself, and forgive your mistakes. The world is not about perfection. It is about learning, trying, and letting beautiful things take shape one step at a time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Craftime Episode 03 about?

This episode is about creativity without boundaries. Patrick speaks with Michelle about resin art, clay, painting, miniatures, 3D printing, and how different crafts can connect through curiosity and imagination.

Who is the guest in Craftime Episode 03?

The guest is Michelle, a passionate maker from Topaz Lake, Nevada. She describes herself as an “eternal student” because she loves learning new skills and exploring new forms of creativity.

What was Michelle’s first Rolife project?

Michelle’s first Rolife project with her children was Honey Dessert Talk. It helped her discover a creative side of herself that she had not fully recognized before.

Why does Michelle enjoy trying different crafts?

Michelle sees each craft as a form of self-expression. Whether she is working with clay, resin, paint, miniatures, or 3D printing, each medium helps her express emotion, build confidence, and continue learning.

What is special about Michelle’s gelato stall project?

Michelle customized the gelato stall with modeling clay, glossy finishes, realistic flooring, and small character details. She later added Grogu and the Mandalorian, imagining them taking an ice cream break from saving the galaxy.

What advice does Michelle give to beginners?

Michelle encourages beginners to start with one thing that brings them happiness. It does not need to be complicated. She recommends being kind to yourself, forgiving mistakes, and letting creativity flow naturally.

Updated on Jun 29, 2026