Matty's Blue Seas Bistro

I have not given up on my blog but where or where did the time go?  Well, there was no way I was going to give up a wonderful 2 month vacation to northern Illinois, visiting with the kids, grandkids and friends, during the height of fall colors.  I have never had a two month vacation before and probably won't again, so I took full advantage.  Unfortunately, blogging long distance from a guest computer at a local library just didn't work for me.  This last month, I have been helping one of my friends open up a brand new CRAFT SHOP!  A few more weeks to go and then I can help her promote her grand opening.                                               

Before showing you the few mini projects I was able to complete while on vacation, I want to "introduce" you to my last dollhouse (actually a vignette) called "Matty's Blue Seas Bistro" which was named after my third grandson, Matthew.  This is the Garden Party Gazebo (HBS) and I made it into an outdoor eatery, inspired by my grandson, who loves seashells.

 

The first thing I did was to make a solid roof.  I could have used shingles or Spanish tile, but opted to simulate the metal roofs that are quite common here in Florida.  Using thin cardboard, I cut and fitted the roof and trim, added craft sticks to simulate the metal ribbing and then spray painted all of it silver.

The second step was to stain all the wood a medium brown, as well as 60-70 craft sticks for the flooring.  Altho somewhat tedious, I liked the way the floor turned out

By the way, I put this vignette on a 18" square ceramic

floor tile that just happened to be various shades of beige and looks a lot like natural sand.

Next came the table and chairs.  And yes, those are golf tees I used for the pedistals.  This is only temporary, as soon as I come up with something else.  I wanted to use seahorses but ran out.  The table tops are an opaque seashell that. unfortunately, I do not know the name of but come in all sizes are quite unique.  Most of the chair seats are sandollars but since I ran out of those also, I had to make some from Fimo. The chair backs are either starfish, fan coral, flat shells or small sandollars.  As you can tell, I like working with as much natural material as I can. 

For my next entry, which will follow very soon, I will be showing you how I make the other acessories, decorations and food.  Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

TTYL!