The Freedom To Choose!

It’s been two weeks since my last post and you’d think I’d have made a ton of progress on the bakery to share with you. Especially,  since time has practically stopped! But alas, there is little here to show on the bakery for my time...

I did manage to get the ceiling papered, stucco'd and painted, the ceiling decorations attached and the lights installed. And I did attach the roof, fill gaps, install trim and touch up paint. Hey - I guess when I type it all out, it sounds like a lot, huh?

With what I'm about to share now, I know I might risk losing your confidence that I’ll ever finish a project. In my defense, I’ll remind you that after abandoning the New Orleans for a year and a half, only the landscaping remains to be finished. It took a while for inspiration to take hold again, but eventually, thankfully, it did.

I must also confess that it has been a little over a year since I ceased progress on the Storybook Cottage. It really is a shame that I can’t muster the inspiration to finish it, because I love it so much and it is ever so close! Only the bedroom and living room furniture and decor to go!

But working in the monochromatic bakery was beginning to become mundane. And there was nothing to keep me occupied while glue and paint were drying! There is still so much to do before I get to the fun parts - all of it more black and white and gray. It is fun to think of what I might do on the exterior, but...

With all of the worries in and for the world lately, I needed something more colorful to lift my spirits. I looked at my stash and thought "If the world might really end soon, I just have to see one more mini project come alive!" ;O)

And I know that there is not one miniaturist who is willing to die until every one of our mini dreams is realized. And God forbid we go with any unassembled kits remaining in our stash!

So I pulled down the Street Of Shops Two Window Shop kit.

I bought the whole SOS set back in 2013, and some of you may remember that I used the Bay Window Shop to house  Starbucks. You won't be surprised to know that it's not finished. I had plans to brick the exterior of all of the SOS shops and was waiting until they were all finished to do so. It's funny how my plans have changed over the years, and what used to be exciting plans for a wine shop has totally lost my interest. Here's how the poor Starbucks sits now, forever waiting to be completed. Look at all that dust!

And while I had no clear idea what I wanted the two window shop to be now, I  went through the wallpaper drawer, selected a piece of flooring and began to take measurements and sketch ideas on the instructions.

I found some lights and power in the stash...

And began to make some built in shelving with the Cricut...

And found a direction to go in...

Drawer Fronts with Dresden Embellishments and
Sparkly Drawer Pulls

 

Cut, installed and waxed the wood flooring...

Mirrored these cabinets and installed some lights...

And now, with no clearer idea what this shop will become, I'll start on trims. While glue and paint are drying, I'll switch back to the bakery. Or the New Orleans landscaping. Or the Storybook Cottage's furniture. Or start another new project... It's so nice to have choices, and the freedom to choose between them!

I pray that all of you are well, have all that you need, and that you have things to keep you happy, dreaming, and looking forward in spite of all that is out of control around us. God Bless, and keep on keepin' on!

xo xo,
Jodi

Starbucks at Pike Place

December of 2013 I used my Happy Birthday 25% off coupon from HBS to purchase the Street Of Shops. I had done all three shops in 2002-2003, but had a completely different vision for this set. I wanted to replicate what you might find in a block of shops in Pioneer Square or at the Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle. Plus, I wanted to make almost everything myself!

I'll apologize now for some of the terrible picture quality. I left my "good" camera in the hotel room at McMennamin's when my daughter and I stayed there for her 25th birthday. All I had left was my iPhone 3g camera at the time. I now have an iPhone 5 and a GoPro, so all future photos should be much improved!

In this photo I'm employing my gluing jig as I build the display shelf.

Here it is as I dry fit into place. The front and back counter, as well as the restroom door were all made using 1/16th to 1/8th basswood.

A lot of my family and friends on Facebook have no idea about 1:12th scale. I took this photo to show a real life sized object so they'd have a comparison. I made the food display unit based on measurements I found from their distributor online (converted to scale, of course). It is also electrified using LED lighting strips. The wires are hidden under the wood flooring, which has a plug, which the unit plugs into.

All of the baked goods, food, beverages, salads etc. I made from Fimo, resin, wood, mold putty, printies etc. The baked good trays are old eye shadow trays painted with spray paint.

Below are photos of the fixin' station. I made the napkin holder and cup sleeve holder out of balsa wood. The sugar substitute packets are printies and the holder was made from taking apart old electronics items (such as a cordless phone). The closest thing I could think of to make the Starbucks green straws was to take the copper wire out of old phone wire. The stir sticks are just carved and sanded wood scraps. I traced the rounded shapes for the counter and the platform onto balsa, then sanded and fit until they looked right in the bay window.

The espresso machine frame is made from basswood, then I cannibalized the previously mentioned cordless phone, plus an old electric razor for parts. The coffee bean dispenser on top was a plastic jar from the dollar store cut down to size and then filled with Fimo beans.

The cash register screen glass was the display window of the cordless phone. The Starbucks payment screen is then sandwiched between the glass and a wood backing. The cash drawer base is made of wood. The item scanner is made of more metal parts and Fimo, and is connected to the cash register with black electrical wire. The receipt dispenser is also Fimo and a scanned receipt.

The Tazo tea display and signboard were made from wood and printies. The cups are made from various glue lids with printed labels. The syrup dispensers and milk are replicas I made after casting original containers into silicone mold, and then using them to make resin bottles. Color changes to the resin were achieved by adding shavings of artists chalk.

The sink is a candy tin I've been holding onto for a while. I just added the faucet and cleaning products purchased from HBS. The microwave is wood/metal pieces salvaged. The blender was made from silicone mold/resin/fimo.

Below is the second cash register for the front counter.

This is Starbucks drip coffee machine - The Clover.

I guess about now you're probably thinking I must go to Starbucks a lot. Well, I used to, sometimes twice a day. Now that I am not working/commuting 13 hours a day I don't need nearly as much coffee. I do still go by for a hug in a mug periodically! ;0)

Verona Basket

Displayed By The Counter

Point of Purchase candy, cd's, Via packets,

Just wood, printies, and a lot of patience!

All these to go and ceramic mugs are resin molds of the originals.

The French Presses were made from Xacto blade packaging, leftover parts from a Chrysnbon kit, and brads.

The pictures below show just where my progress has stopped. I can't go any further until I complete the other two shops in the set, as well as the restroom addition to be placed between Starbucks and The Tasting Room. Once I have all the shops complete, I'll secure them all to the 60" base and begin brick streets, lamp posts, landscaping, and the drive thru. Stay tuned, as I'll post news on the blog as I update!