Welcome to my life . . . .

This is a blog about my passion: dollhouses and miniatures. This particular blog was started to follow my miniature dream: to create a Victorian Mansion. But work on my Mansion is slow. Very slow. Sloth slow. Ice Age glacier movement slow. Why? Because I am easily distracted by other personal miniature projects (I have 50+ roomboxes and 15 dollhouses in various stages of incompletion) and because I work for a miniature shop and am often up to my elbows in miniature projects that aren't mine! So, I thought, some artists work in a particular medium (woods, watercolors, clay, oils, etc.), I work in progress . . . .

Thursday, February 28, 2019

Keep on Cluckin'

Found some time to wallpaper!  So Cluckers was papered one day...
Itsy Bitsy hen-themed wallpaper
Looking to the left wall (mostly window)
The next day I stained flooring (those veneer flooring sheets by Classics and Houseworks) and turned them sideways to be ship lap up behind the shelves that will hold the "flair":
Ship lap in place
Shelving and brackets are up!
Had to trim out the window cuz I hated seeing the glue globs where the glass was attached to the outer wall...
Those glue globs were really bugging me
Stained wood now covers those blobs
Still have not found a good Cluckers's chandelier.  Had hoped to buy some glass chickens and put a light bulb between them to light them up and call it a chandelier, but the chicken arrived and it was quite large.  So it became Mother Cluckers's mascot and will have a place of honor above the door.

In the meantime, I spray painted the back kitchen area silver.

And stained the narrow back counter that will have the register and take-out bags on it.

My staining on the left is bit darker; It'll work fine though.
I used the American Chestnut Stain and Polyurethane All-in-One stain (as it matches the Bespaq New Walnut stain color of the booths and front counter; however I gave the counter two coats and I should have just done one so mine is a tad bit darker).  When I first opened the stain it had separated (the stain was gloopy on the bottom of the jar and the poly was on top).  But before I stirred it up, I dipped my brush into the top of the stain can and put a blop of the slightly stain-colored poly onto a paper plate along with some watered-down yellow and brown paints.
My painter's palette: I always use the best tools
My silver kitchen was way too clean where the grills would be...so I had to add some "grease" and food residue to the back wall.  Using a soft brush I smeared the light brown poly over the silver.  Once that had dried I used a stiffer paint brush (almost resembled a toothbrush) and dipped it into the yellow and brown paint washes.  I'd flick the bristles over the paper plate first to get off the larger paint clumps/drops and then I flicked it over the grill area.
Hope the health inspector isn't coming by any time soon!
I think it turned out pretty great.  It probably needs more down the front of the cabinet to be realistic, but I'm gonna pretend like the cook's apron keeps the front of the kitchen grill cleaner. LOL

I added a strip of LED lights to simulate a plate warmer for above the grill.
Order's up!
Needs more plates and glasses stacked up on top
I still need to glue all the chicken and rooster "flair" to the shelves.  Kitchen still needs more supplies (plates, mugs, glasses, etc).  And I have to make (or find) a soda dispenser machine to fit that space next to the coffee maker and I want to design and print off a logo to create take-out bags.  But those two projects, like the chandelier, can be on-going tasks for later in the year.

But right now I'm in the mood to start my next project(s)....all the cold weather and snow we've had these past two weeks has me thinking of the winter holidays.  I know, I know, I 'm about 3 months late (I'm always late), but I was too busy around the holidays to do any new holiday-related mini projects!  But I'm ready to blast the carols and eat candy canes now! Check back in a few more weeks!

6 comments:

  1. I just LOVE your grills and the greasy stainless steel and the pancakes, bacon and eggs on it on order!
    The time now is 8:40 p.m. but I am suddenly in the mood for a pancake breakfast! :D

    elizabeth

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    1. The grills with the food cooking on them and the French frier were made by Carolyn's Creations. Her items are available at some miniature shops and her items are very reasonably priced! They really are perfect for the scene!
      -Lori K.

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  2. Hello Lori,
    It is coming along beautifully. I love the combination of the wallpaper and the shiplap separated by a shelf. The mascot is terrific and I am so impressed by the kitchen area. It is SO realistic. Keep up the amazing work.
    Big hug
    Giac

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    1. Thank you, Giac! It's so funny how scared I was to throw some "grease" around my grill area; so nervous I was gonna mess it up and that it would look badly. But I was pleasantly surprised at how well the cabinet turned out overall.
      Glad you still stop by and check up on me, Lori K.

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  3. I just love themed mini projects and this one does not disappoint! My daughter and I used some of the American Girl minis back in 2002 to make a greasy spoon and it was so much fun! This project brings back great memories!

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  4. Hi, Lori - This whole project is impressive, and I love it! The black shelf brackets are perfect, and you did a great job hiding those glue globs with the wood strips, which also look good with the shelves and shiplap. But the greasy grill is your masterpiece! That grease is so realistic that I can just feel the sticky grime. I'm looking forward to the end results, especially the flair, but I can see that I'll need to be patient for a while. Now I'm curious to see your belated holiday ideas - that'll be fun, even if it does mean reliving some of this long, long winter!
    Marjorie

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