Izakaya Diorama: Phase 1

Hey, dollings! How are things over at your side of the globe? Over here, the family is doing well - each one is healthy and we try as much to eat and sleep better. What is happening to the world, as a result of what they call a pandemic, is not a joke. But all we can do is really just avoid contributing to the worsening state, right?

So aside from keeping fit and healthy, my mind (and hands) also had to do their part. I try to stay sane by either crafting or painting. In the past few weeks, I have been working on my new diorama, which was inspired by the Izakaya Re-ment set that I wrote about from the last post.

I was so excited that I started reminiscing on our Japan 2017 trip, re-watched my fave Netflix show, Midnight diner, watched the movie, 37 seconds, and completed another show, The Naked Director, which was crazy interesting I wanted to experience the 80s again!

Well - back to reality, right? But the shows set the mood perfectly and here, I'm sharing with you some photos that I took to kind of document my diorama-making process.

I didn't intend for this project to be a tutorial, but I hope this blog post series (this post is phase 1 of the build) will inspire you to go crafting again if you have stopped like I did.

Unearthing our old doll room

This one was from 2014 that I got made by a local carpenter. Aki helped me check its condition, and we proceed with cleaning it. 

She was looking at the back wall, thinking we might need to remove it (we did eventually!).  Aki is super meticulous about it, but she did approve it for reuse. So glad to have not tossed it years ago.

Starting with the bar/counter

I was inspired by Jhon Robert's recycling for his dioramas, so I re-used some of the packaging boxes lying around the garage as something to give structure to the bar. 

I veneered the packaging structure with some balsa wood I purchased online, some popsicle sticks, coffee stirrers, and bamboo skewers that have been waiting in my crafting box for years. Yasss! They finally saw the light of day, right?

Sturdy walls

I realized packaging boxes alone would be too flimsy for walls so I grabbed my oil painting studies that I painted in cheap plywood. 

I will be adding a layer of packaging box as my main canvas for my walls, as they're easier to work with later.

Long bench

I initially designed individual stools for chairs but instead opted to make a long bench. I have watched some izakaya youtube videos and noticed that people are cozying up in the bar anyway so there's no need to have separate chairs. 

I'm planning to add a stool or two, in case the izakaya gets more patrons. Tee hee.

Left and back walls

I can be the most impatient person you'll ever know in the world, so even if I had ordered some craft acrylic paints, I didn't wait for them to arrive and went straight with painting the left and back walls with watercolors. Ha! That means I had to unearth another art material - a sealer so that the walls will be water-proof.

Putting together the two walls, the counter, and the bench

Aki called in Luna to help decide on how to utilize the kitchen wall for all the bar's needs. While the girls discuss, I tried to simulate architectural lighting.

Staining the bar counter

So, the acrylic paints arrived and I proceeded with staining the counter with a reddish-brown shade.

I also used a gloss acrylic medium to add some shine to it as all the veneer swallowed the paint.

The Kitchen Wall

Everything starts with knowing what you have, so you know what you can do with it.

We decided on making the fridge first so to make sure it can fit in on that tiny space.

It was supposed to be just a prototype, but I thought, the girls can't afford anything fancy right now.

Gotta start lean with their new venture, you know?

Aki seems to be loving it so, yass!

Oooh, and I stained the long bench that day, too, I think.

Then we went on to painting the kitchen wall.

Once the walls are set, I went on to make the upper cabinet.

This one is weird looking that no one in my Instagram and Facebook communities guessed what it is.

The odd rectangular holes are actually to make the cabinets stick to the wall.

I placed chicken skewers on the wall but forgot to take a photo.

And just like the cabinets, the shelf below has those holes as well.

Got them painted in dark chocolate shade (mixed reds, yellow and black acrylic paints) and they're now hung. I designed them to be removable from the wall for easy storing later.

So I set up the pieces again and took a few photos.

Luna seems very relaxed in this tiny space.

And to complete the major kitchen wall parts, I worked on this:

I know - another puzzle, right? Please bear, as sometimes I get so excited with my crafting that I forget to take WIP photos. Sigh.

It's actually a portable... 

"stainless steel" sink

It's collapsible because I know it's hard to store chubby objects.

I painted it with multiple layers of my craft acrylic paint in silver.

Ooops, it doesn't have the faucet installed yet.

Vent Hood

I'll be making a yakitori grill at the front corner of the bar so we need a vent hood, too.

I attached it to a "wooden" horizontal box that connects the left and kitchen walls.

Left wall shelf and hanger hooks

I'm excited to make outwear for my dolls so they can hang them on those hooks tee hee...

Hard to see though because the toothpicks I used had the same colors as the wall.

I might repaint them in dark brown later.

Wrapping up Phase 1

So the girls are again discussing what to do, or add next.

I'm awaiting the battery-operated lights I ordered online,

so I can start working on lighting the room.

And the flooring.

Yeah, the faucet, too, haha!

So, that was PHASE 1, guys!

Whew! Massive, right?

I initially planned to blog every week about it but I ran out of weekend time thus the pile!

Anywhoo, thanks so much for reading up to this point.

It sure was a lot, but I am happy to be sharing my process with you. Sharing an ongoing project is kind of new to me as I used to finish everything first before I show it to the world. 

I am less afraid now tee hee... Thank you as always for your support and love.

So yeah, that's it for me and the girls.

I hope you had fun and I'll chat with you soon!

hugs from the Philippine islands,

shasha