Burning the Midnight Oil at Trish's Flower Shop.

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(Trish has been working very hard and burning the midnight oil to get ready for opening tomorrow, but first she filmed a post for her website.)

Come on in for a sneak peek. Of course we are getting ready for Valentine's Day---but we just had 8" of new snow, it like dusted for 4 days here in Chicago.

I've always loved doing the window first! We have a pink, red, and purple theme going on here.

Glass bottles or Demi-johns are still a great choice for minimalist decor, here just a few roses and some tulips with greens. 

Of course there are lots of ROSES and HEARTS!

I did do a Faux rose wreath for outside, but it's so cold out now!

I try to have one statement piece in the shop---this is also done with faux flowers and some dried products.

My shop is small, but I have a huge backroom and an office to work with clients. Now that Covid is over there is LOTS of Wedding Work...and my dates are filling up fast for 2023.

This display wall has fresh flowers, plants, candles and accessories. Of course we have free cards for any purchase and my wild flower seeds.

The new iridescent vases just came in---as did the candles below. Scents from top shelf, Heartnotes(smells like candy hearts, and lower left to right are 

Hot Heart(Spicy Cinnamon), Kisses in the Dark(Sandlwood and Patchouli), and ForgetMeNot (mixed floral), all perfect for the month of February!

I keep a kettle of fresh flowers here, and that is a very pink metal pot.

The cooler is full of flowers for the theme and ready made fresh arrangements. We will be doing lots of custom work for Valentine's Day, but also for other customers.

My faux tulips and roses make a great statement for the season!

I also have two coolers in the back room, full of finished arrangements and lots of materials and flowers for orders. I have a new gal who has been madly working for me, she's great. So, tomorrow I can man the desk and meet with all my friends and everyone who walks in. 

I think we are ready...all the new electrical in the back seems to be working and the new desk and work wall is a dream. Russell installed more outlets and some new overhead LED lighting which is wonderful, because it is natural and doesn't change the colors of flowers or ribbons at all----YAY!

I think we are ready????

Thanks for viewing on my website, I hope to see you tomorrow!

Come pick out something for your Sweetheart tomorrow!

TONIGHT is my last night in St. Charles, 

tomorrow night I sleep in my new apartment at the GrandView.

Phew, but now a long drive home and special thanks to Ian for taking all the photos my website.

(More SHOP PREVIEWS-NEXT)

The Nitty Gritty: Materials and Sources

Trish's Shop: cardboard, contact paper, scrapbook paper bricks, floor-cut scrapbook paper planks, acrylic windows with wood outside trim, doors hand made and painted, plastic interior trim, lighting a globe mini light strand,  

All fixtures are made by me:

Cooler-a drawer divider with added shelves and lighting. Track is plastic channel with real sliding acrylic doors.

Cabinetry is all made from phone boxes and contact paper, and scrapbook paper accents.

Floral Arrangements: 

Roses and flowers: Paper Roses and tulips(Aliexpress), others are different materials, greens are cut from a variety of faux greenery from Michaels or thrift stores (I also have a huge stash of floral products)

Containers: Glass bottles from $$ store, Michaels or thrift stores, acrylic bead filler (I also use these for ice)

Vases:drawer knobs, bottle caps, glass bottles, tin, and thrifted mini's 

porcelain vases circa 1950 porcelain and red pot from thrift stores.

Candles---(faux) glass, washi tapes, and matching bottle caps trays. 

Printed Materials: printed from the internet, size adjusted to be 1:6.

I use hot glue at the moment and wire, floral foam with moss as a coverup to make my arrangements, because I'm in an unventilated environment. Alene's tacky glue is another possibility. All arrangements are anchored with sticky foam or tape to the shelves---for sanity sake.

Trish (Mattel Jurassic Park) and mis-matched outfit is from thrift store finds. 

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The Best Laid Plans

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A week ago,  the owners and staff of Vickie's and Trish's met with Russell the General Contractor and Vanny from BMR Ltd. discuss the upgrades and changes that have been made to the stores, out buildings and parking lot in back.

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Russell: Thanks for gathering here at Vickie and Joe's. I just don't want you to be surprised with some of the changes we had to make in the lower level shop. We had to lower the ceiling in order to do all new electrical. The stairway to the lower level had to be brought up to code, and an exterior stairway has been added to the back loading dock. 

I'm turning this over to Joe now.

Joe: ( From the back) The tunnels after inspection ran through this block of buildings and across the street. An exit to the park lagoons was discovered in a hill hidden away. All the tunnels have been blocked and/or filled in. Channel 7 will be doing a special later next month about them and the victims found in the tunnel under Trish's and next to the wall that caved in the lower level of Vickie's.

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CPD has closed the case out---and the details will be in the TV special and later in the Star. When the stores are open, please don't discuss any of the uh-m-mm, supernatural  stuff you thought went on. The department believes the electrical issues and the unexplained sounds were caused by the earthworks failure, as well as the wall ...um, exploding

Zoe: Is it really safe to go downstairs now?

Joe: Yes, the City has filled in all the weakened structures of the cave-ins, and the tunnels on the block no longer exist. 

Russell: And, the walls have been totally rebuilt as well as new ceiling beams and ceiling. There have been lots of structural changes, and the bbuilding will last for another hundred and fifty years.

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Carly: Did the heat get fixed, too?

Vanny: Yeppers, it sure did. You'll have all new ducting, a new furnace and air conditioner for the lower level, safety doors on the elevator and new wiring for that also.

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Trish: May I pull my delivery truck up now, and get deliveries? It's only 3 weeks until Valentine's Day and we've already lost months of sales. St. Charles has been so many miles to travel everyday, I don't even know what my new apartment looks like.

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Russell: As of tomorrow, everyone is okayed to move back into their buildings.  I have a small list of things to be done yet, which should take a day or two, but my guys won't really be in your way at all. So Ladies, tomorrow is moving day as far as BMR, CPD, and the City of Chicago are concerned. Everything has been inspected and is ready to go.

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Vickie: Finally we can open on February 1st.  I'm so sick of staring at a computer screen.

EL:I'm sick of shipping packages.

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Vickie: So if there isn't anymore questions, I'll order pizzas and let's make a plan for tomorrow. Trish do you have enough help?  

Trish: My brothers will be taking care of the workshop and I have a new girl starting in two days to help with the shop.  We aren't going to set up the greenhouse yet with the snow and cold temperatures forecasted. Can we order a Veggie Pizza?

Russell: Pizza Pepperoni, sausage and bacon for me...none of that green stuff.

Joe: Who want's a drink? I'll bartend! 

(To Be Continued)

If you enjoyed this post(s), please join me by email- at FOLLOW IT---in the upper right hand corner of this blog.

I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions or products shown, or from where I shop. 

Please Join me at these Fine Blog Parties!

 Please do not use my photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 

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Trish's New Shop Part 1: Cardboard Walls???

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There's always a first time for everything. I decided to build Trish's new shop from items/materials I had in the house. HA! Anyway, I'm on a few dollhouse sites---and they are all building from cardboard, so I thought I would give it a try.

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TOOLS:  needed for Foldable Diorama Shop for 1:6 scale

SQUARE---absolutely necessary for 90 degree corners and straight lines.

Exacto knife or box cutter

Mitre box

Saw

Scissors (for paper cutting)

Heavy scissors for cutting plastic channel

Paint brushes

MATERIALS:

Cardboard box the size of your desired shop or cut

      walls from foam-core/or plywood, and tape together.

Acetate sheets or clear packaging/box lids for windows

Thick foam core or wood for the floor

Contact paper (I personally like being able to foam stick        decor and papers to contact paper walls, also                    cleanable--I use satin white contact paper the most.)

Decorative papers for floor or a paintable surface.

Decorative scrapbook or wrapping paper for inside or            outside of the shop.

Wood pieces desired thickness and width for windows          and door frames, (you can certainly used cut foam          core for this-covered in paper or contact paper)

Decorative wood trims for accents 

Acrylic Sealer - I use Liquitex matte sealer which I buy         on sale 50% off. It is very fluid and seals quickly             while also soaking into the wood, saving you paint.

Modge-podge for applying paper to surfaces.   (I use               satin or matte)

Acrylic paint for window trim outside

White acrylic dimensional fabric paint as caulk.

Luan plywood or wood for door 3/8" thick 

Cooler: Plastic channel open enough to allow two                  thicknesses of acrylic plastic to pass through or two        thinner channels

E-6000 glue or similar for all types of surfaces.

Double-stick tape for paper on front

Sealer for floor (optional) 

CONSTRUCTION

I had a very heavy 16x16 box that I figured would be a good start. Cutting thick cardboard is way harder than quality foam core. I had raggedy edges everywhere which I sanded off with a flexible sanding block

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Here's the first cuts made for the windows and folding

       to fit the shop into the corner of the 'garden center lot.'

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I cut off the bottom flaps---as I want the shop to be foldable for storage. At this point I decided to cover the entire inside in white contact paper. I knew if I had to paint this it would take multiple coats and I wouldn't have a tight surface because of the cardboard is just paper. This is up to your own vision.

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I was waiting for the floor to dry before making the last adjustment on the overlap in the front right of the door. I chose this shape as Trish really counts on her garden center grounds to display all the outdoor items. 

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Taking a photo of the inside, you get an idea of how large this shop is going to be.

In my fictitious world--Trish will have a large workroom and storage area behind the shop in the alley. I will make a fake door in the back corner.

FLOOR

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I squared the box up in the location it would be---and then drew the angles for the floor. The thick foam core floor is covered in 'planking' made from strips of scrapbook paper. Michael's has greatly reduced their paper selections---UGH---and no flooring but dark is available---and I don't shop at HL. 

Joann's is 14  and 18 or 20 miles away--city driving. So, I guess I will have to get more creative in my paper selections. The strips were cut 1" and 1 1/4" wide, just to mix it up. I was able to stagger the pattern by cutting the lengths varied. 

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I applied Mod-Podge to the thick foam core and then placed each strip down, then immediately covering with another brushed layer of MP to smooth out the wrinkles. Carefully glue down each piece as you go. Gaps I will color in with markers after the pieces do their shrinking.

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This is where the door will have a threshold-maybe...thing to think about.

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After covering the entire inside with contact paper, I tested the floor for shape and how much more I would have to cut off the one front edge.

In the back, I cheated on the cooler---I had this drawer tray for ages, and it will work for the cooler when it is warm enough to spray paint silver. 

Gosh, the pink is atrocious, I will use primer paint first for sure. I'll add a couple of shelves also.

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You can see the close up trim. I used some plastic channel on the bottom and top for sliding doors, and plain edging on the sides. The channel was hard to slip over the squishy cardboard edges even with the contact paper. A drop of gel glue inside the channels is enough to  hold the pieces in place.

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On the front overlapped pieces, I tried to use velcro to hold them together---and then had to pull them off as the cardboard bent too much when trying to open it. I'm opting for pinning the walls into the base, and something for the top for a tight fit.

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Not much wants to stick to that cardboard which probably has a waxy coating on it to make it moisture resistant. This is when I decided not to Modge-podge the brick paper to the cardboard and cover it in contact paper instead.

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I buy the big rolls of the white. The plastic (matte) surface I can easily tack papers to, change decor, or just cover up a multitude of sins, underneath. You can see the outline of the window through the plastic.

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Flipped over to the Outside: The second layer is cut right up to the edges of the window with an Exacto knife, leaving a clean edge.

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Here's the finished store frame. I'm still undecided of what to do with the roof.

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Luckily I had one piece of brick paper, and a bunch of scraps that matches Vickie's wall and where Trish's garden center is. The pieces are applied with double-stick tape. 

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I had just enough to cover the front, but that is all that shows, with a few strips left over. Next, some wood trim. All the windows were measured and the pieces cut on the diagonal in the mitre box. Craft basswood/pine cuts easily.

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I used wood I had in my stash. Save your odds and ends, I used up quite a few short pieces. I used a coat of acrylic sealer on all sides of these pieces, to help with warpage, and makes good surface for glue and paint to stick to.

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Again, I fished in my paint stash and decided the Ceramcoat beigy on the lower left was the best blend with the brick. It's ancient, so I won't give the color as I'm sure it's not available now.  One coat was all that was needed on all the pieces because I had pre-sealed their surfaces.

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All the pieces were glued down with E-6000 and cardboard placed on top and then my paint boxes to hold everything in place, overnight.

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Here is the inside moldings which are made from plastic channel that has been trimmed on one side. The plastic acetate sheets I did buy--as all my scrap packaging pieces were too short for these 10" or so windows. (Next time---I'll measure my scraps before I cut windows. )

More on channel moldings HERE on my OldNewGreenRedo blog.

First cut your Acetate sheets a bit short of the inside measurement of your channel from edge to edge. I put a dab of glue inside the center of each channel and on the ends. 

Fit your window frames together with the window inserted on a flat surface. Let set a few minutes. E-6000 gets tacky pretty quickly, add a small amount on the back side of your now assembled window all around the edge and then place on your holes in the walls. You have time to wiggle and adjust and make it all square. Weight down everything and let set over night. The gaps on the corners of the window frame can be filled in with acrylic dimensional fabric paint for caulk, squeeze some in the cracks and wipe excess off.  (Plastic channels are paintable, (wipe with alcohol first) if you wish to change the white).

Phew well that was four days worth....!

NEXT DOOR,  and ROOF

(weather is finally getting nice to be outside, so this may be awhile as my yard and garden NEEDS WORK).

Links on the Floral Shop

Floral Shop: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

WHAT HAVE YOU AND YOUR DOLLS BEEN DOING/BUILDING???

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FOLLOW IT---upper right hand corner.

I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions or products shown, or from where I shop. 

Please Join me at these Fine Blog Parties!

You are the Star BlogHop

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 Please do not use my photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. 

Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi






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