I think it's really finished!

De's Diner is a busy place today. An elderly gentleman is enjoying his lunch in booth one. A group of teens has claimed booth two. One of them is at the jukebox and one of the girls is off to the restroom. There's a cute little girl spinning the stool at the counter instead of eating her icecream. Hmm, wonder where her parents are?

I don't remember who pointed out that I'd forgotten the tank for my soda fountain but that's now installed, too.

De's looks like a great place to get a good meal and visit with friends. Anyone want to join me for lunch?

The Diner's population is growing

I'm making the people for the diner as inspiration hits. This is the boyfriend for the girl sitting at the end booth. He's got a nickel in his hand ready to put in the jukebox.

I experimented with making a plaid pattern with the clay for his shirt. It ended up looking more like a 70s disco shirt, lol. A coat of navy paint over the print toned it down and made it look more like the subtle plaid I was hoping for.
I want to make a little girl eating the ice cream sundae at the counter and an adult, don't know whether it will be male or female, at the other booth.

I'm back... but not at home

I'm "borrowing" internet service at the church so I can check in with all of you. I feel so lost when I can't just pop online to visit, :-(.

I started making some inhabitants for the diner yesterday. Meet De and Buzz, owners/operators of De's Diners. De doesn't look anything like me but Buzz is so named because he bears an uncanny likeness to my Uncle Danny, nicknamed Buzzy. One of the customers is completed as well. I decided to dress the dolls in polymer clay so that I can get the draping the way I want it and so that the customers will sit well in the booths. It's much more difficult to make the dolls this way!

A booth update

One of my online groups has a round robin swap. I got the box today and there was a large piece of black leather in it. I used some it to add a triangle to the booth backs.

The diner has a name

Ok, so it's isn't a very original name but I like it, lol. I saw a fluorescent sign this afternoon and had to figure out how to make one for the diner. I used colored paper clips, bent them into shape, glued them to the black cardboard and after the glue dried I coated the paper clips with clear Gallery Glass paint to make the "tubes" shine.

Here's my soda fountain and the inspiration photo I used. Again, it was made with items I had on hand: beads, connector dowels, paper fasteners, corrugated cardboard and wood scraps.

The ketchup and mustard bottles are painted Lite-Brite pegs and the salt and pepper shakers are just two beads glued together. I painted some black glass paint in the pepper shakers and white in the salt shakers.

Is there anything I've made for the diner that someone would like to have a tutorial on? If so, please leave a comment telling me which thing you would like to see as a tutorial.

Hey, it really looks like a diner!

I had a slight change of plans. The wallpaper I found online would not print clearly so I used a tone on tone scrapbook paper instead. I used the envelope liners to make a tiled floor. I had several different patterns in black and white. I love how it turned out.

The light is an LED one that hubby and I found at a ham radio fest. I find a lot of useful mini tools and supplies at those. It looks a bit retro and lights up the kitchen really well.

I'm not finished yet. I still need a soda fountain and condiments. There are other things, too, but those are the most important.

Please notice that the back splash for the grill is covered in splattered grease. Thanks for the idea, ladies.

I've been able to make so many items for this room with found objects. That's one of my favorite things to do - see something I like in mini or real size and try to figure out how to make it with what I have on hand.

Diner Update

My future son-in-law has been here for the past two days and the guest room is my sewing room so I couldn't do much of the "construction" work I need to do on the tin. But I was able to bring a tray of stuff out to the dining room to work. I made the grill and the cabinet it's on, the fryer, the coffee maker and the milkshake machine, the food, and the coffee mugs. The cheese on the fridge was made by Gaye from My Small Obsession. I made the salad prep board a year or so ago.

Besides raising the floor on the lid and wallpapering, I still have a lot of accessories to make. Menus, napkin dispensers, condiments for each table, signs and a clock - there's probably more but that's all I can think of right now, lol. Oh, just thought of a couple more things - soda dispenser, cash register, waitress's notepad...

I found a pink vintage wallpaper for the top half of the walls. I'm going to use a black and white print from the inside of old billing envelopes for the lower half. I want a black and white tile floor, too. Once I have the floor leveled, my booths will sit better. They are level but the floor currently isn't.

The meals on the tables and counter are burgers/fries/pickle; hot dog/fries/pickle; grilled cheese/pickle; and bacon and eggs. They are all on plates made from juice carton seals. The coffee maker was made from a foam wine cork, the straws are colored paper clips. Most of what I made today came from found objects.

Update

First, update on Zyla. She's miserable - poor thing has dug a bald spot on her tail and she's scared to go outside on her own.

And the pictures speak for themselves. I'm happy with the way everything is coming together. The tin is already rusting through the gesso, though, so I'm probably gonna have to get a rust-o-leum primer and then paint or paper over that.

Here are the pics I promised

Obviously, there's still a lot work to do but I got a good start today. The juke box needs some beads for buttons and knobs so it has some dimension but I think it will work. I'm very happy with the booths and the counter and stools. The booth benches are pieces of metal angle brackets that I saved from something and the tables were made from cappaccino container lids and film canisters. The counter was made from a wooden box a watch came in and the stools are bits of hardware with vintage soda lids for seats.

I did have a catastrophe today, though. Zyla got into the craft room and ate some of my mini food I had out for the diner. I can't wait until she gets past this stage. It makes me crazy!

The next step for the diner is to prime the interior and figure out paint or wallpaper. I want a black and white tile floor and pink upper walls. I think I will raise the floor level of the front part to match the kitchen level...or at least make them closer to the same height.

My purchases

Hopefully, the next time you see these items, they will be a lot less rough. The main body of the breadbox will be the kitchen area. I think I'll make the counter so it bridges the height difference. Those metal pieces will be used to form the stools. The Victorian style stoves will go for other projects but everything else will be used in the diner. The color scheme will be pink and black to match the exterior colors. I am anxious to get started.

On a sad note, we found out today that a dear friend from our college years died last week. We'll be making another trip tomorrow for the viewing.