Groovy kitchen

Still working on my various projects to get them completed (or as close as possible) before the FROGS holiday open house on December 4th.

This blog post is on my "1964 Kitchen". The box and kitchen cabinets were finished years ago. I was lucky enough that my friend Audra assembled and painted the cabinets for me. I was then lucky enough to find some groovy Itsy Bitsy papers for the walls and floor that matched the cabinets!  And my luck was holding strong as a major miniature manufacturer came out with those wonderful Saarinen Tulip chairs that were popular in the late 50s/early 60s.

But then my luck ran out as I could not find a matching table for years. Poor kitchen sat neglected. I wasn't even motivated to put accessories in the room.

Finally, a few months ago, I found the table! And I could finally move forward with accessories. I had to make a draped towel to cover the missing drawer handle (did you notice the missing handle in the picture above?).

Molding my towel

Using a piece of fabric, I dipped it in a water/glue mixture.  Then I pinned it into shape on a plastic-wrapped styrofoam block and let it dry.  Once dry, I plucked it off and put it on the countertop.

I polled my Facebook friends for accessory ideas and someone mentioned the wooden forks and spoons that hung on walls in the 1960s.  I liked that idea and got to work making some:

American Girl doll plastic cutlery

Painted them brown to look wooden

Stuck them on the wall!

A little glossy, but they'll do.

So, why 1964?  This kitchen roombox is part of a series of roomboxes that I was making to teach my daughters about history (yeah, sure, it's a teaching tool, not just another excuse to make and play with miniatures): the roomboxes would portray kitchens from 1790s, 1895, 1929, 1964, and 2010.  Why 1929 and 1964 instead of round even numbers like 1930 and 1965? The answer to that is on the table:

That blue can on the table is 1964

Aluminum soda cans with easy open tab lids were introduced in 1964 by the RC Cola company.  (Coke and Pepsi wouldn't get on the band wagon until 1967.)  Such an iconic part of our world (a soda can) yet in 1964 it was a brand new novelty.  That fact blew my kids minds: aluminum cans haven't been around forever?!?!?!  There's a lot more history in this kitchen than meets the eye, but I won't bore you with the complete history lesson.  (Extra credit points for anyone who can guess the reasoning behind the 1929 year!)

So this kitchen is finished enough for the FROGS holiday open house.  There are some minor changes I will make in 2017 so I am not gluing everything down yet, but it is a complete scene now.

Overall view

Loving my draped towel!

Groovy.