Works in Progress: Summer Strawberries (CREATE Class with Sun Lemmens)

I took a NAME (National Association of Miniature Enthusiasts) CREATE class taught by Sun Lemmens of Nalladris. It was a Strawberry Cart class. First, we would assemble the cart and then paint all the items to go on the cart.

Assembling the wooden pieces...

Photo courtesy of my friend Julie who was also taking the class, better organized than me, and remembered to take pics

By the end of the first class this was as far as I had gotten:

Because of course I couldn't just assemble the cart as pictured:

Looks cute, but lets really strawberry it up!

I saw the opportunity to take this cart to the next level and got strawberry pattern fabric for the awning (which of course didn't arrive in time for class day) and I wanted to paint my wheels black but the black paint didn't dry in time to assemble them during class. During the week I finished up my wheel painting. And struggled with the fabric awning.

Thank heavens it was gluing and not sewing!

Wheels and awning on; just awaiting trims!

Wheels done and shadowboxing trim is on the front of the cart

Loving my strawberry flowers I painted on the wheel axels

Cart was finally complete and ready for the goodies! For that class we needed to prime all the 3D printed items that would go on the cart and then paint them.

Again, photo courtesy of my better organized friend, Julie

What a difference priming makes! The details really began to pop out! (I actually remembered to take the next two photos! Just forgot the overall "before" photo of all the pieces we'd be painting.)

Detailing on the teacups really stands out now

Cake strawberries look less like sugar lumps once primed

It was a tedious process using the smallest paint brush I owned, but it was also fun. Steps to painting the waffle desserts:

Step 1: Primed

Step 2: painted waffles

Step 3: Paint strawberries on top and in the whipped cream filling

Step 4: add greenery to strawberries on top

Hand-painting the design on the teapot was cute, but on the smaller teacups and sugar bowl/creamer I was going cross-eyed trying to see what I was painting! (I have since bought a tool that holds the object while I paint it looking thru a magnifying glass. So I'm prepared for whatever future classes I take!)

Painting the teapot

Whole set finished

This was my first time using glass paint and I love the translucent look it gives to clear 3D printed objects!

Lemonade pitcher and glasses look so berry-utiful!

My milkshakes will bring no one to the yard because they will not be put on the cart (who would buy a milkshake off of a cart in the summer? Glass of melted ice cream, anyone?). I adore how they look, but I struggle to suspend that much reality for my miniatures (yes, many of my shop/restaurants have no bathrooms or kitchens and I can overlook that, but ice cream being sold outside in the open summer air? Nope, can't handle that. LOL) So, they will not be going on the cart -- they will be put in my 1950s Malt Shop.

My kids loved those pirouette cookies - so glad they are in these milkshakes!

Of course, I recall that I have an ice cream cart somewhere in my collection. Maybe I could put that by the Strawberry Cart and that would explain the milkshakes being on the cart: it was a crossover from the ice cream business!

Almost complete (real life strawberry for scale):

I am adding a few items to the cart. I needed to make strawberries for the empty baskets in the photo above (did you even notice 2 baskets were empty?). I broke out the Sculpty and started rolling and fussing...

Strawberry field

Not the most realistic, but they'll do...

Made some on "vines" so that I can make a strawberry plant or two to also be sold on the cart.

Some of these turned out very well - I'm berry excited about it

Filled up my extra baskets. They are not the best but from a distance they're pretty good!

Added some jam jars (by Elizabitzies; Elizabitzies Etsy Shop) and I'm still waiting on some chocolate covered strawberries (by CSpykersMiniatures; CSpykersMiniatures Etsy Shop) and now I feel like it's "done" (or as done as any of our miniature projects are - I still need to make and add the strawberry plants). Will add this to my goat-pulled honey cart and ice cream cart and have a little summer farmers market scene happening!