MY ENTRY IN THE "2004 ENCHANTED VILLAGE"

 

I've always wanted to do a miniature bakery & sweets shop ... probably because I've been making and collecting breads, cakes and desserts for such a long time!  My aim was to build a structure smaller than my Edwardian House which, last time I checked, was still unfinished, even though it was started in 1988!  Uh, uh ... no more 13 room projects.  This one would be a front-opening building with a downstairs shop and the bread-baking kitchen on the second floor.

So ... I got out my photo file (many of the pictures are real life buildings and some are miniature designs) and tried to decide what style I wanted.  That was the hard part -- there's so much to choose from.  And after I changed my mind for the 5th time, I went out to PJ's, my favorite miniatures store and drove Jeff crazy.  Since I love to build things from scratch and have been doing this for so long, I'm not content to buy windows that you'd see on everyone else's house.  And to get that custom look, you have to build it yourself.  I did get some really nice architectural mouldings to use around the windows and some quick instructions on how to make your own window mullions, but everything else is just wingin' it!

I painted the surface with a beige acrylic paint and then mixed in an additive and some sand to make the paint textured.  The stones were carved using  a long steel ruler and my rotary tool fitted with a small drill bit.


The stones were sponge painted with several colors of brown and taupe and the bottom has been painted black.  Shutters and top window cornices add to the elegant touch.

Here's the brick oven I built for baking the bread.  There's a wood shelf and hammered copper detail.  Matching wood shelving units for the back of the store.

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