Cottontail Confectionary

Decades ago, some jazz dog statues (yes, jazz dog statues) sparked an idea for a "Sit-and-Stay Dog Cafe" scene in my brain. But before any work was done for the Sit-and-Stay Dog Cafe, other animal themed projects sprung to life (Knitty Kitty and Mother Cluckers) and others were formulated in my imagination (Cottontail Confectionary, Fish Bowl Restaurant, and The Smoking Sloth).

I purchased this Real Good Toys Front Opening Shoppe from another miniaturist who had already finished the exterior in pastel colors and painted the interior all creamy pale yellow with black walnut flooring installed on the first floor.

Pastel green and pale yellow with pink accents and lace curtains!

Move in ready

The colors reminded me of spring and rabbits. And the "Cottontail Confectionery Sweets and Treats" was under way. I've spent the last 5 or 6 years collecting cakes, chocolates, and candies for the shop. Some I even made myself (Chocolate Goodies & candy)! Downstairs would have cakes, cupcakes, and more gourmet treats for adults and the upstairs would be more manufactured candies for kids.

But first, it needed light downstairs. Being a front/top opening structure meant that the top floor was fairly bright enough, but the shelves down below were very dark. So I installed some chandeliers.

And so I also needed to add matching black walnut wood flooring to the upstairs (helps hide the electrical wires) and then I installed some wallpapers (had to make a template for the wall with the stairs):

All electrified, papered, and flooring installed

I had white Bespaq displays for downstairs. I needed some white furniture upstairs that was narrow and shorter than average since the upstairs is not as tall. Found a cute little bookshelf that I could paint:

Unfinished narrow bookshelf

Painted them white, added green/pink painted details, and glued a FIMO pink rabbit I had made in a Ruth Stewart mold to the sides

Up close pic of shelf in place (before flooring was installed)

Front of the bookshelf has green/pink detailed painting

For the back wall I had purchased a laundry room set from Hobby Lobby; I just wanted the upper cabinets and if it worked out in the space I'd go back and get another set or two (and use the other pieces in my other projects). But by the time I tested the fit, Hobby Lobby no longer carried the set! So, my solution was to kit-bash the 3 furniture pieces that came in the set to create a new back wall display counter.

Photo taken from someone on Facebook when they found the set they were looking for in the clearance section of Hobby Lobby; sadly, my Hobby Lobby was sold out.

Sink cabinet on left would need to be cut down to same height as upper cabinets

Removed sink so cabinet is same height as other cabinet, covered hole with wood that I would paint white to match countertops

Turned other cabinet on its side. It too would need to be cut down to a lower countertop height.

All finished and in place

Then it was time to decorate with all my furniture and sweets (many chocolate pieces and cakes came from Elizabeth Murta or Ruth Stewart).

Shelves are still a little bare. I thought I had collected plenty in the last few years but there's so much space!

But the upstairs looks too dark now that the downstairs is all lit up. So I added a strip of warm white LEDs behind a piece of trim and wired that in to the electrical plan.

All lit up, although now downstairs doesn't look as bright - might need to change those bulbs to be warm white like the upstairs. LOL

The pieces for my rabbit lollipop stand (from Alma, who sadly doesn't make miniatures anymore); green tier stand was a kit assembled by my friend Julie for me

My finished rabbit lollipop stand with rabbit lollipops

Upstairs

Cotton Candy Corner

The Pez dispensers, also made by Alma, on the right are my favorite miniature in the upstairs scene

Tulips are on order from an Etsy lady but they won't arrive for another 2 weeks but eventually the flower boxes will be filled with tulips on either side of the rabbit cabbage planters

Now I will either create some plexiglass covers for a customer (and maybe one for myself) or I will pull out the Fimo and make some candies for the shop (and some String of Turtles or String of Pearls plants for the Peruvian scene I was just working on. And some cigars for my next animal themed shop: The Smoking Sloth). We shall see if plexiglass or Fimo wins...or maybe I'll start work on The Sit-n-Stay Dog Cafe or the Irish Cottage.

Ready for the Weekend

As you all know from the last few blog updates, I was not happy that my Hunter's cabin was getting pretty fancy for a rustic weekend retreat.  And the kitchen was always too small for large appliances (link to fridge post). I had an oven/stove for the kitchen but it was fairly posh, modern, and large:

Also, I didn't like a stove/oven wedged between the wooden pantry and wall: my maternal instincts were worried my miniature Hunter would accidentally set the house on fire. So I got rid of the stove oven.

But I couldn't find a Coleman style camping grill to replace the fancy stove. So I bought the Hunter a microwave. And then I discovered an electrical grill on Etsy (MiniMonday3 Etsy Shop)! Since there is limited space in the Hunter's kitchen, I had to make a microwave cart to hold both the electrical grill and the microwave!

Rather than reinvent the wheel, I bought a 2" wide lower cabinet base. This also appeased my realistic nature since now my Hunter also had somewhere to store dishes and utensils.

Electric grill barely fit on the base. But now I needed a top part to hold the microwave....

Used some scrap woods and trims to add side supports and a top shelf. Then finished the base cabinet's drawer and cabinet door.

Gave it a nice honey oak stain like the real life microwave cart I had a few years back. Added the electric grill and microwave and put it in the kitchen:

Since the inside was basically done now (few minor details to be dealt with but overall it's finished), it was time to deal with the landscaping and outdoor areas.  I know nothing about fishing (or hunting for that matter).  But I know that when we've gone to the beach the beach houses have "fishing tables" for guests to clean the fish they have caught.  So I decided to make one for my Hunter too.  Found this photo to use as a guide and got my scrap woods together:

Spray painted the woods gray and the top piece white and glued them together to create a basic table:

Then I taped my trims together so my drilled/carved holes would all line up:

And accidentally added some holes to my kitchen table too (oops):

Luckily my table is so "well loved" that no one noticed a few extra bits of love.  Once the table and trims were glued together I realized Hunter would need a shed for storing various equipment that would/could be needed (chain saw in case a tree fell and it needed to be cut into smaller more manageable pieces; fishing rod; ladder; shovel; etc.).  So I made a shed:

Made side walls by gluing various wood scraps together

After gluing my three sides together and beginning to work on the door THEN I remembered that I wanted one side to be "open" so that you could see the shed's contents.  So I had to use an exacto knife and cut away part of a wall.  All my planning goes out a window once I start playing with minis!

Ready to stain or paint.  But whenever I applied my weathering product to the raw wood, the wood would warp so I had to place "heavy weights" (aka salsa jars) on the wood to keep it flat while the stains dried.

Shed after a coat or two of the weathering product and now with a tin roof!  Had pewter color hinges but only brass handles so I used a Sharpie marker to darken the brass handle for the shed:

Despite my best efforts the door still warped a bit.  But that's ok cuz it's supposed to be a rustic, aged, slapped together in a weekend shed.  After I aged the tin roof a bit I moved on to the landscaping:

My Hunter pulls right up to the cabin so I needed to put some gravel down (leaving a marked area for the tires).

A layer of some thick sod material a friend had sent me made the right side of the yard look great.  But the left side was a little skimpy and since I'd run out of sod I needed another solution.  Plus it was bothering me that this was supposed to be a cabin in the woods and there was only one tree!

So I ordered some more Bill Lankford trees and some low, squishy bushes and glued everything down:

Bat motel to help keep the mosquitos away

Glued some birds in the trees

My shed and fishing table right by the hose

An assortment of things stuck in the shed

Every forest needs some woodland creatures running about

Inside the Hunter's coffee mug, video game controller, slippers, and dog wait by the fire

Fly tape and a fly swatter kept handy to keep bugs away

Pantry and cooking area

Basic bedroom set up: Fresh linens out of the trunk and the hunting stuff ready for the early morning

Bathroom, squeaky clean

A little hunting cabin in the woods.

So now that the Hunter's Cabin is finished, I have moved on to 2 quick little projects of Art Deco shoe shop and a Shop's Windows roombox.  And of course, since I thought they would be "quick little projects" they will take me months. LOL