Autumn's Pantry: Fitting The Fittings

I thought that I'd be working on some new (to me) techniques for making stained glass this week, but the more research I did on ways to do stained glass on dollhouse acetate. the more options there were. I decided to order a few more supplies and jump eagerly into the experimental rabbit hole, but until the supplies came, I had to address other questions. Such as... How was I going to display all the neat fall/harvest stuff I was constantly brainstorming? How was I going to make, build, bash or remodel the fixtures and furnishings? What would be the best layout for this small shop? I had plenty to keep me busy! I'd like to get to the stained glass segment next week, and hopefully, have some fun and successful results to share!

I'd always envisioned a wall of shelves for the back wall, so like the Storybook Cottage kitchen cabinets, I employed the help of the Cricut Design Space program to help me. I love being able to draw precise measurements for things like the depth and height of shelf supports, and there is no cleaner way for me to cut through chipboard sheets like the deep cut blade does on the Cricut. I made the upper arched front shelf piece, a lower drawer front panel, drawers, top support, bottom support and side supports with the Cricut.

I usually have to run my Xacto blade through the cuts afterwards because the 1/16" chipboard material is just slightly more than the Cricut likes to handle. I only like to program one pass with the blade, as well, because more passes can sometimes lead to really rough results. The nice thing is that the chipboard can be gesso'd and sanded, so even sheets that come out looking like this can be salvaged.

The horizontal shelf boards themselves were made from 1/8" basswood sheet ripped down to a depth of 1-5/16" wide by the length of the wall space which is 9-7/8". A nice amount of shelving in spite of the small space!

Here, the lower drawer unit supports are going in.

Here I have added 3D sticker detail to the drawer fronts and am testing the fit of the first shelf. It is 1/4" wider than the other shelves because the upper shelf unit uses it as support.

Another test fit after the first coat of paint, then adding the handles (which are actually door knobs) using a paper jig to ensure identical placement of the handles.

Then shelf supports made of 1/8" x 1/8" basswood strip go in, then shelves, then a light bulb for each upper arched shelf opening, then the front panel and the top piece.

Next, I had to decide on furnishings. I had a Town Square Miniatures hutch that I bought in an eBay estate lot. I got a hutch, matching table and chairs for $20. It was all a bit rough, but nothing a little TLC, sanding, painting and remodeling couldn't fix. I removed the hardware and one of the center shelves from the upper portion to have a larger display area. I removed the gold hardware then painted it Georgia Clay, a burnt orange. I removed the yellowed "glass" and will replace it with some chicken wire after I'm finished giving it more wear and grunge in the form of some antiquing wax.

The next big fixture was the counter. I wanted this piece to be the central fixture in the store, and once I had the hutch space figured out I knew what floor space I had left to work with. I made an "L" shaped counter which is 4" x 4-1/8" out of 1/8" basswood sheet. It's got two shelves to store bags and gift wrap type stuff. The countertop is about 3/8" wider and overhangs all sides. I am still playing around with the orientation and position in the shop, and imagine that its final place will be determined by accessory placement later on.

For the countertop finish, I wanted a dyed concrete type of look. For this, I chose some warm complementary colors to the fall palette and used my typical paint and glaze sponge method. I used the Camel color as the base layer, then used the other three colors below mixed with glaze and dabbed it on with a slightly damp sponge. Once it was dry, I added a couple more glaze only top coats sponged on to keep the slight texture.

Once the large pieces were in place, I began making kits for crates, tiered plant tables, shelving and wall decor - whatever I had in my stash that looked useful. This gets me pretty close to knowing what fixtures I have to use as displays so that I'll have a better idea what I'm going to make to display in them. Hopefully, I have most of the supplies and materials I need on hand to make them. Some of the fixtures still need paint and aging, but if I'm not sure yet on the color or finish, I've left it unfinished in order to continue to contemplate.

Here are some photos to give you a feel for what the space will be like with the walls on. I definitely need to work on my lighting plan, as even with the open roof over the main part it's still really dark and shadowy. And I can't install the upper wall section that joins the main room to the bay area until the windows have been installed, so some things are still waiting on others which are waiting on others. You know - normal dollhouse construction operating procedure!

I've got a couple more drawers to go through to scout out useful stuff for the project, so things are still subject to change. The next major hurtles will be the windows, lighting and final structure details. Then, the fun filling up part can begin! I see a lot of food and flowers in store for this project, so I've got some challenges ahead. And if August goes by as quickly as July did, fall will be showing up fast! Maybe I should have started this project in May?

Here's to our remaining Lazy Days of Summer in the the Northern Hemisphere! Hope you're enjoying your days, wherever you are, too!

xo xo,
Jodi