Miniature Bakery

Happy Saturday, everyone! I've been wanting to make a miniature bakery ever since visiting some fabulous ones on our travels. A GSL Stackable Room Box French Quarter is the perfect piece to set a sweet scene in. Once I worked out the floorplan I got to work on the display cases that would fill the space. 

I started with a GSL Store Cabinet Base (available from Alpha Stamps) to hold the shop's pies and tarts. I painted the edges in an off white acrylic paint to start. 

I used a cream crackle scrapbook paper from Paper Studio for the back wall of the display. The shelves are simply glass microscope slides held in place with dollhouse bricks. They fit perfectly in this piece.

I added woodgrain paper to the interior and exterior of the display and footed it with some miniature wood turnings. It's all set to fill with tiny tasty treats.

The pies were made using molded air dry clay crusts. Those were filled with different combinations of acrylic paint fillings, polymer clay slice fruits and finished off with a Glossy Accents glaze.

I used a GSL Library Table to hold cookbooks and whatnot. 

After assembling it with tacky glue, I painted and papered the interior in a similar fashion as the pie display.

I made a few GSL Store Counters (coming soon) for the bakery, too.

They were finished the same as the other furniture pieces.

Here's what they look like completed.

The final piece of furniture was made from a GSL Secretary 1 to 12. I wanted it to be an open display case so set aside the doors and drop down desk for some future project. 

After painting the interior, I papered the back walls of this piece with a blue paper from Graphic 45's Cafe Parisian collection.

 Here it is filled with cake stands, kitchen towels, rolling pins and jars of all sorts. 

Here's a peek at how some of the pastries and breads were made. I have small molds that hold air dry paper clay. Once dried, I give them a coat of acrylic paint and then a dusting of pastel chalk.

I made a few 'flavors' of crullers/donuts. Those were displayed in a GSL Tiny Tray with Handles which is available over at Alpha Stamps.

With the furniture all completed, I turned my attention to the bakery itself. The GSL Stackable Room Box French Quarter is 11 ¾ inches wide by 9 ½ inches tall. It comes with a floor, 3 sides, ceiling, balcony and window details. I chose a blue and white paper from Ella & Viv's Spice Market collection for a Moroccan tile floor. 

Here's the balcony. It has tabs that insert into the exterior wall of the bakery.

It was painted in payne's gray and glued in place. The exterior brick paper is from Ella & Viv. I painted the windows in off white and glued them in place.

The planters were very simply made from a large wooden bead glued onto a wood block. These assemblies were painted gray and filled with miniature greenery.

 

This two part arch is meant to go onto the exterior of the building as trim around the french windows. 

I decided instead of installing these pieces together, I used the smaller one on the interior of the bakery.

The larger one was painted in payne's gray to match the balcony and installed on the exterior. 

The interior walls were papered with a textured gray scrapbook paper.

Notice in this photo the tabs along the top of the walls. Those are where the ceiling gets glued in place. I was getting ready to install it and wire the bakery with a ceiling light fixture when my husband suggested I figure out a way to leave off the ceiling completely to make the bakery play-friendly.

My solution for this was to paint some balsa wood strips and glue them over those wall tabs.

 A few final additions include some vintage bakery images framed on the right hand wall as well as a few accolades hanging on the left wall. I gave myself a 5 star Yelp review, a Trip Advisor certificate of excellence and figured while I was at it added in a James Beard award. Go big or go home!

 

Whew, that was a lot! Thanks for stopping by!

GSL Products Used

Stackable Room Box French Quarter

Store Cabinet Base

Library Table

Store Counter (COMING SOON)

Secretary 1 to 12

Tiny Tray with Handles

Other Supplies Used

Tacky glue

Glossy Accents

Acrylic paint

Paper Studio crackle paper

Woodgrain scrapbook paper

Graphic 45 Cafe Parisian paper

Ella & Viv Spice Market paper

Ella & Viv Brick Backgrounds paper

Air dry clay

Pastel chalk

Polymer clay & canes

Wooden block and beads

Miniature greenery

Miniature kitchen items

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Great British Bake Off in Miniature

Happy Saturday, everyone! One of my favorite TV shows to have on while I'm crafting is the Great British Bake-Off.  Each week the amateur contestants compete in signature, technical and showstopper challenges. Throughout each season they bake bread, cakes, pastries and biscuits hoping to receive the coveted glass cake stand trophy and be named Britain's best baker. The show is taped in a lovely tent on an English country estate and is outfitted with colorful contestant work stations, one of which I have recreated in miniature.

I started with a GSL Bookcase 1 to 12, easily assembled with tacky glue. 

 

The back of the bookcase serves as the front of the work station. Since the originals have a decorative wood detail, I recreated that using coffee stir sticks. 

I really like how this detail came out!

I chose a soft green paint for the piece and added two pieces of balsa wood painted black and cut to fit the openings. These are going to be the work station's ovens. Since they are decorative only, I topped them with a tongue depressor cut to fit. These serve as shelves on top of the ovens.

For the top of the work station, I used a length of balsa wood. Because it was about ¼ inch too short, I pieced it with another small slice of balsa. Each station has a glass cook top. I recreated this by painting a square of scrap chipboard black.

 

Here it is all assembled. I cut up a copper plated cocktail pick to use as oven handles.

Now on to the bakes!  I used a GSL Tiny Tray with Handles to hold one of them. It's available over at Alpha Stamps.

I painted the tray in an off white and made some molded paper clay bread loaves that were painted then 'toasted' with a light coating of pastel chalk. Those were nestled on a tiny square of gingham.

My next project was to make small layered lemon traybake slices out of polymer clay. Those were frosted with white paint then dipped into micro fine glitter 'sugar' and topped with a poly clay lemon slice. They were then displayed on a metal filigree jewelry connector. 

For the piece's showstopper, I was inspired to recreate Nadiya's marzipan covered peacock cake from season 6 in polymer clay.

Here is everything assembled and ready for judging, complete with miniature plates and forks.

 Thanks for stopping by!

 

GSL Products Used

Bookcase 1 to 12

Tiny Tray with Handles

Other Products Used

Tacky glue

Acrylic paint

Pastel chalks

Microfine glitter

Metal filigree jewelry connector

Copper plated cocktail pick

Coffee stir sticks

Tongue depressor

Balsa wood

Paper clay

Polymer clay

Polymer clay cane

Miniature plates and forks