Cheddar Hollow has a Patisserie and info on how I made it!

Welcome to our newest member of Cheddar Hollow, Miss Neufchatel, our new pastry chef. Today she is unveiling her darling little shop to us so prepare to have your mouth water with her delectable tiny treats. Yes, I know you are all curious about my pastry shop and wondering "what is it?" and "how did she make it?". Well, I am going to tell you. believe it or not this is one of those large bins from Target.

Believe it or not it started off looking like this. Then with some imagination and bits and pieces I had on hand as well as purchasing the door and window this is what I came up with. So, obviously you have to flip the bin to get started so the back of the in actually become the floor. I then painted the entire interior and added my flooring. In this case I used scrapbook paper, because it was the right vibe I was going for.

I then used my favorite paint sticks, measured 2 the width of the building and glued them together to create the partial roof which sits at the very top. I also decided to add lights so I could illuminate the entire things so when you peeked in the window the shop was all lit up inside. I simply used fairy lights and attached them to the wood with masking tape . . a bit ghetto, but no one sees it and I wanted to make it easy to remove so I could easily replace the battery when it dies.

Then I added the second part of the roof by doing the same thing as before but this time using 3 paint sticks instead of two. By the way these are the 1.5" wide thicker style paint sticks. Once all that was done I wanted to cover the roof with "shingles" so super easy I cut up a cardboard box into strips and cut random size pieces to create my shingles. I applied them using hot glue...and I am happy to announce I only burned myself once during the process..yay me! Finally, I painted them and aged them to give them a bit of and Old world kinda feel!

So you may be wondering why I did it in two pieces? Well I wanted the ability to have the shop illuminated without the entire roof being covered so this way I have the best of both worlds

Onto the front facade. So, you can do this so many different ways. Because this was my first attempt I honestly just used foam core board to see if it would work. I measured the front opening and then cut two pieces of foam core to fit. Make sure you measure the outermost measurements of the box because you will need to attach the facade to the box but we will talk about that later. I opted to use two pieces to make it more sturdy and also to give it more substance. Glue the two pieces together to have a great base to work with. Next you are going to need a window and a door. I found mine at Hobby Lobby, but if you don't live near one you can go online and look up "dollhouse supply" stores and there are tons of choices. I set my door and window onto the board where I wanted them and traced around the inner most area so that it fits snugly . Then I cut the out the door and window.

Now comes the fun part, deciding how you want to "finish" your facade. I opted to go for a faux stucco look but you could do just about anything you wanted. Brick. stone, siding, etc. I covered both the outside as well as the insides and all the raw edges with crumples craft paper which I flattened out after I crumpled it all up and then used Mod Podge to attach it to the foam core. of course you will need to keep the windows and doors "open" so you can put them in when the time comes. Once it was dry, I did a faux painting technique to make it look a bit Olde World. I painted up the windows and doors and then added them and glued them in place.

Now to give the building a bit more personality. I created a sign, window box filled with flowers and a "tree" to add some much needed color. Now you ask. . . "But, Dawn? How is the whole thing held in place?" very easy. I used a roll of magnetic strip and it works like a dream. I covered the entire length on either side of the opening of the shop and then place pieces of the magnets in strategic places on the roof pieces as well as the facade. Well, that's pretty much it. There are soo many things you could do with this basic principle. You are really only limited by your imagination. Now that I have done one I can't wait to do more and you absolutely know where I am going with this...yes....I will have my town "for reals".

But now, let's take a look inside....Finally! I am sure Neufchatel is anxious for you to see all her lovely pastries.

Neufchatel is an amazing pastry chef and graduated top of her class from Le Cordon Blue in Paris. She is so excited to have her very own Patisserie in beautiful Cheddar Hollow and we are certain she will have one of the most popular shops in town. Let's look around the shop.

My mouth is watering just looking at all her delicious little confections. Gateaus. macarons, Napoleons, tarts, cakes, cream puffs, it just goes on and on. . . These tiny little masterpieces are the work of my sweet friend Fina in Spain. We worked together to create this fantasy and I couldn't be more thrilled. He abilities with clay are other worldly in all honesty. I could never ever do this. But this is the beauty of this amazing creative community we live in. I absolutely love collaborating with other amazing artists and creating these little fantasies to share with all of you. Fina, has an Etsy shop and is incredible to work with. I cannot say enough fantastic things about her. So, please go check out her shop. I am sure you will find several must-haves for your mice! Seriously drool worthy!

. . . and one final pic so you can see how it all comes together. Once again I had way too much fun making cabinetry for her shop out of my favorite paint sticks with the addition of the bakery display I found on Amazon. Then added all kinds of sweet touches around the shop to give it tons of charm and whimsy.

I really hope you have enjoyed visiting my latest addition to Cheddar Hollow. Now to decide which shop to do next???