To make the plain white porcelain tea set more interesting, I embellished it with paper flowers and leaves that were covered with a pale white nail polish.

Here is the decorated luncheon table.  I enjoy looking at pictures of different life size place settings and I have a lot of fun creating miniature ones.  I saw on Pinterest a cupcake placed on top of an inverted goblet and repeated the same idea in miniature.

The three ladies posed for a "groupie" photo.  While I was editing my photos, my photo program wanted me to name the three old ladies because a square and question mark kept coming up over their faces.  So with ideas from my miniature group, here are their names:  the red headed dame is Marg, the owner of the kitchen, Miss Abigail, center, and, the business-like woman in the plaid suit is Aunt Blanche.  These superb character doll kits were made by Sherri Colvin of minidollkits.  I had so much fun dressing them that I want to eventually fill a whole box with these character dolls.

Top down view of the kitchen.

Nancy's husband, Jack Gaiser, made the tool box and I used it as a hostess gift for Miss Abigail from her 3 friends.  The box is filled with 4 different types of cheese, cutting board, crackers in a plastic bag, bread, cooking magazine, a bottle of wine (from China), a plate, knife and fork, tablecloth and rolled up napkins.

For the cat and dog food, I glued railroad dirt and gravel into the bowls.

I used my Apple Pages print program to make the calendar and chalk board and rubbed white scrapbooking chalk to make the smudge marks on the board.  Chalk was made with a white painted wire.

I made the star cookies in the clear plastic container with clay, liquid Fimo, and fine sand.  To help with making the pansies, I used a Joanne Swanson tutorial.

I used a Betsy Niederer cake tutorial to help me craft the yellow cake.  Oops, I forgot to texturize the bottom of the cake slice.  No problem.... I just added a big chocolate rose to cover my mistake.  (Such is the manner that  I constantly do with my miniatures, always finding ways to cover my mistakes!!)  I made the crust on the cherry cobbler with clay and railroad  gravel to give it a crumbly look.  I covered the 2 large plates in the background with patterned decal paper and the stack of plastic bowls were a China Ebay purchase.  I made the white bunny with a bunny metal bead, mold maker and air dry clay.  Stack of Chrysnbon plates were painted with nail polish.

Books are internet downloads.  Plates are made with printed patterned paper, circle punch, stylus, template and Mod Podge.  I had pinned a crocheted swag garland on Pinterest but since I don't crochet I had to think of a good substitute:  bunca.  I punched out heart and flower shapes and glued bunca on top of them.

I put together a kitchen-themed display and placed it under  a dome purchased from Michaels. Tiny plastic bottles are a quarter scale kit that I colored with alcohol inks found in at the scrapbooking section of the crafts store.

Brass girl and deer figurine was purchased at a miniature show.  

I painted the wooden yellow tray and Lori Potts  green tea pot with with red roses.  Books are a kit purchased on Etsy by L. Delaney.

Pinned to the bulletin board are birthday, appointment, wedding and post cards, photos, coupons and S&H Green Stamps.  S & H Green Stamps ??????  Do people still collect those?  Hat and purse were club projects and sweater was made using a shirt pattern and a glitzy knit fabric.  I stitched the sweater in at the waist to give it a more appealing shape.

I painted a metal pail with nail polish, glued a vintage picture on it and filled it with cleaning supplies, brushes, feather duster and rags.  To make the yellow sponge, I used a make-up applicator sponge tip and rolled it in scrapbooking chalk.  

Dish drying rack is another Ebay China purchase.  The three glass dishes in the front of it and the bowl filled with plums were salvaged from the headphones and were all painted with nail polish.  I used parts from the headphones and builders foam to make the kitchen scale.  I twisted embroidery floss and coiled it in a circle to make the mats underneath the potatoes and plums.  I made the kitchen mitt similarly to the stockings and corset described in Lace Shop. 

I went to the bead strand section of Michaels specifically looking for crystal and metal beads that would make realistic spice jars and tops.  I printed spice labels and glued them on the crystal beads. 

I made some of the cans in the "pantry" and also bought some kits from Belara Beach Originals.  The food boxes were internet downloads and some come from Creative Miniature Blogspot.

I filled plastic and glass canning jars with millefiori and clay fruits and vegetables, and Magic Glos.

The Reutter porcelain farmhouse sink was the first furniture purchase that I made for this room box.  This piece was what determined the colors, mood and theme for the entire box.  I made the doll on the window sill with Tina Squire's mold and Japanese air dry clay.  The large kitchen bowl filled with tomatoes is a gift from Nancy Gaiser.  To make the red bar of soap I used warm wax from my burning kitchen candle.

An essential kitchen fan is attached to the cabinet and is used for those desperate moments when Miss Abigail experiences her own "personal summer."

My grouping of herbs were the first things that I made for this box.  I downloaded vintage can labels from the internet and glued them around stacks of round beads.  For the plants, I used a combination of dried and "silk" greenery; the heart-shaped topiary was made from railroad tree greenery.   I painted the dried greenery and coated them with Mod Podge so hopefully they could be preserved through the years.

After many years of no use, I had to dust off my scroll saw so that I could make the chopping boards.  After I scratched marks in them with an exacto blade, pin and who knows what else, I stained them with 2 different colored stains, and then rubbed beeswax on top.  

Fresh baked cookies ready to be taken out of the oven.  The pig chopping boards have been in my collection for many, many years.

Looks like the vegetable soup is getting ready to boil on the stove top.  The broth was made with tinted Lisa Pavelka Magic Glos and the vegetables were made with Premo Sculpey.  I painted the green porcelain pitcher with nail polish and then detailed it with acrylic roses and my daughter Sage detailed the oversized martini glass in the back left corner.  

Looks like the owner of the kitchen, Miss Abigail, has the beginnings of a salt and pepper shaker collection, seen in the bottom center shelf.  The red and blue shakers on the left were salvaged from parts of the headphones.  Paulette Svec made the green, white and pink pot holder.  Miss Abigail displays pictures of her kitchen muses:  her mother and grandmother.  

On the left are stacks of bowls purchased from Grandpa's Dollhouse in Canada during their on-line dollar deals in January--so much fun and addictive!  The stack of white plates below, are recycled from flip tabs from half gallon juice and milk containers--an idea gleaned  from the internet.  The top shelf on the right has stacks of bowls:  nail polish covered plastic bowls and the inexpensive wooden bowl  on the bottom was  covered with decal paper as well as the ceramic cannisters in the center bottom shelf.

Basket on the left is filled with post cards, clock faces, potted plant, copper cup, kitchen linen and an ivy vine.  On the right, I made the flowers in the baskets with plastic embellishments that were then pressed into a mold maker and then filled with a Japanese air dry clay, then painted.  Teal teapot was part of a resin kit that I purchased from Lori Potts on Ebay and my daughter Sage painted the tiny pink flowers.

Full view of the oven/stove cabinet.

In one of my lazy and carefree miniature moments, I took a toothpick that had dried glue on the end and quickly painted these roses on the back of these plastic pots.  I like the imperfection of the flowers because they look like the paint has been worn away with use.  The pot rack was made with a discarded door and black netting.  Berries in the upper left corner were made with pearl no-hole beads that were glued on the end of a wire and then painted with an acrylic wash.

The picnic basket is made from rectangular woodsies, straw braid, bunca, buckles, and leather trims.  Bird cage is made from a metal mesh and a bowl shaped metal jewelry finding that were brushed with green, blue, gold and brown acrylic paints.   

My friend Sherrill shared her life size placemats so that I could make some of the  mini kitchen linen that is displayed on the shelf.  The magazine printables come from a website called Simply Stella's Sketchbook.

I like watching Sugar Charm Shop Youtube videos for making miniature food.  Although my food does not turn out like hers, she gives a lot of helpful hints and techniques for making many types of clay food.  I used several on-line tutorials to help with making the sandwiches and apple pie.  The onion and tomato slices were some I had in my stash.   The cookie cutters displayed on the wall were made from copper ring parts found in disposable headsets from Hop on, Hop Off bus tours in Spain.  I was surprised and pleased that I could use quite a few parts from the 2 sets of headphones that my son took apart for me.  I will point out other things that I made from the headsets in this box.  

Butter and vanilla box printies are internet downloads.  Cookies and dough are made with Premo Sculpey clay.  Nuts in the glass jar are railroad gravel. I filled a glass jar with sawdust and called it "cereal."

Another Ebay China purchase was this large silver tea set tray.  It measures 2" by  1 3/4" and I thought that I would never use it because of its large size.  Then I put it on this counter and to my surprise it fit.  So then I decided to decorate it with Chrsynbon plates, chunky glassware, flatware, tea towels, another oversized China find: parfait glass used as a vase, tulips and a cookbook cover whose printie can be found on  A Lavender Dilly Blogspot.  Canning jar is filled with wooden utensils that I have had in my collection for 20 years.

This large kitchen counter displays food preparation boards of ham and cheese sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies.  A large tray holds kitchen essentials.  Displayed towards the back of the counter are a freshly baked apple pie, glass jars filled with cookies, nuts, cereal, and green beans, and several kitchen canisters.

Vintage Kitchen sign was made the same way as described in Basil's Clothier.  Most of the kitchen utensils were parts of sets I had and painted with nail polish.  Some of the utensils I made from wire, jewelry findings, and paper.  Paulette Svec crocheted the green and red pot holder and I made the blue one from a punched cardstock circle and bunka.

The stack of "glass" plates on the left and plastic water bottles on the right are Ebay purchases from China that I thought were 1/12 scale but turned out to be 1/6 scale.  I was pleased with how they looked on the shelf.  Green flower canister was made from a desiccant container that was found in my bottle of vitamins.  Stack of tiny silver bowls are jewelry findings as well as the weathered metal bowls and brass canister.  Pink flower tree was placed in an electrical cap and painted with nail polish, weathered, then a strip of patterned paper was glued to the brim.  Branches were made with paper covered wire that was covered with modeling paste then painted.

This kitchen chandelier was a kit that I purchased from Bindels Ornaments at a miniature show.  I colored the filagree finding with Pearlescent Powder Pigments.

Right side of the box.

Center of the box.

Left side of the box.

Since I wanted to continue making Premo Sculpey food, I needed to design a box to display them.  I thought of making a witch, mouse, Easter or Christmas kitchen, but then decided to make another party themed box.  In this scene, an elderly hostess invites her  three long time friends over for lunch, and two of them are already seated at the table and one has left the room to perhaps "powder her nose."  The hostess has planned soup and sandwiches for lunch and has prepared lots of desserts because she still loves baking. This box has taken nearly six months to complete with weeks taken off here and there as life has a way of interfering with miniatures!  Completed March 2015.

Lunch for the Ladies

I used a Betsy Niederer bread tutorial to help with making the bread.  The salami are millefiori slices.  I used Sugar Charm Shops youtube tutorial for the strawberries.

I powdered scrapbooking chalk on the rims of the Chrysnbon plates and painted gold acrylic on the edges.

I found this nice kitchen chair for $2 in the bargain bin of my miniature store because it was missing a back splat.  No problemo!  Just cover the missing part with a silk scarf and wax cording hat and I am the only one who knows there is a missing part.  Right?

Whoa!  Miss Abigail, I guess in all of your excitement to entertain your guests, you got way to heavy-handed with your eyebrow pencil on the right side!!  

Thanks for visiting!

I am so appreciative that Sherri Colvin sells her miniature resin character dolls as kits so us do-it-yourselfers can customize the dolls to our own unique settings.  I purchased Aunt Blanche as an entire kit which included  the pattern and fabrics. I upgraded to have Sherri paint her face  as well.  I painted the other two dolls faces and bodies and found it surprisingly easy to do.