New Bakery Display Case and Coffee

My new display case came this week along with the coffee. These pictures are from the seller.  My foam board mock-up of the bakery is being cut out from MDF this week, so I do not have the bakery here with me but I'm told it will be ready Friday.

Update: Place Mat Paneling Finished

I finally finished the paneling for the church using place mats, now I just need to cut the string away on the lower wall and paint the whole interior white when it dries. I also trimmed away the overlap from the openings. I liked the natural wood of the original floor so I masked it with blue painter's tape for protection.

Mini Floral Arrangements

My mother sent me pictures of a life-sized floral arrangement she made for my cousin. I joking asked if I could have one about two inches tall and she made some! I thought they looked pretty good for a first time.

                        

         

Brick Foundation on the Church

While the glue was still drying on the place mat paneling, I begin work on bricking the foundation. I sprayed the small brick stencil with stencil adhesive on the back. Then I used the same brick compound made by Bromley that I used on my house. You mix it with water and spread it over the stencil and then remove it, rinse the stencil if necessary and overlap the previous section and repeat. You do not have to let it dry before removing the stencil. The resulting bricks have a gritty texture like real brick and you can adjust the thickness of the brick based on how thick you apply the compound. Once dry you can correct any uneven areas by scrapping or with sandpaper. I have gone back and touched areas up. You can paint the bricks when dry with acrylic and seal them with a matt vanish. I used spray vanish on my house this time I might brush it on. You can see where I need to trim the place mats from the openings.

Interior paneling made from place mats

I have been trying to figure out how to recreated the paneling from the interior of the church. I went to Michaels to get some stencil adhesive to do the brick work around the foundation, when I came across these place mats. It occurred to me that they looked similar to the photo minus the string. My idea was to leave the place mat intact and glue it to the walls and cut the string away. I placed the mat up against the wall and traced the outline of the windows so I would not put glue in that area. I measured and cut the mat strategically on the wall and let the excess mat hang over to side for weight to help the glue set.  I began to apply the mats like wallpaper making sure that the seam would be in a good place to be covered by trim later. I was careful not to get any glue on the string and turned the mats to the side with the single string showing in case I had difficulty cutting them off. I pulled too hard and some of the loose wood panels came off but I will reattach them with glue.

Work Begins on the Church

I started by painting the exterior with a flat latex paint in white. I plan to use the crackled finish but I was uncertain about using the acrylic as a base coat over the MDF,  because in the past it just absorbed the paint and required many coats. This is the first coat of two and I did a test on the bottom with crackle medium. 

Layout for the Urban Bakery Dollhouse

This is my idea for the urban bakery cafe. I am still considering the interior design but this is what I came up with so far. I still think I need another display case it seems kind of sparse. I am thinking of using this flooring for the white tile on the lower half of the wall, like in the reference photo. I like the contemporary look of the space but I like the glossy shine and contrast of the black and white tile.  I plan to replace the table cloths. But I kind of like the nostalgia with the contemporary. Lighting is another issue I have yet to work out. I plan to have the MDF cut from the mock up this week. The signs are just placeholders until I come up with a name and brand identity, logo, packaging, menu, etc.

   

Bakery Shop Display Cases

Well, my long awaited display cabinets have arrived. I am still working out the layout so I will show them inside the bakery later. The display stands came with the cakes and cupcakes and the metal trays and paper dollies. They have sliding doors in the back with metal knobs. I also ordered a white counter with shelves that I plan to make some bread to display inside maybe some pies. These are the pictures from the seller.