Ladureé cart update

The work in the cart continues.  

Picking up where I left, I painted the cart legs, and while they were drying, I also painted the posts of the cart in gold, and added a fine line of gold to the trim.  I cheated and did this with a gold Edding pen:

Now glueing the wheels:

Then I attached the legs:

After this, I finally set up the "table" for the counter:

As the counter table is made of foamboard, I did not like the look of the edges, so in an attempt to cover them, I cut a paper trim of 6 mm, painted it green, and applied it to the edges:

It's starting to look good!

Next step was preparing the roof.  I took the covers I made the previous day and added more layers of green paint.  After that, it was very easy to attach them to the structure:

I love them, but I will cover all the edges with papers, just as I did with the "table".  

I was ready to call it a day after this, but then I noticed that one side of the cart looked higher than the other, so I used a lever to check, and OMG, what a disaster!

Oh noes!!

The bubble is supposed to be centered, so I have no other recourse than to remove the legs, sand them to measure and glue them again.  But that will come the next day.

More soon! 

Working on the Ladureé cart

I have had a whole year to plan this, but the motivation to start working on the cart has been elusive.  Today I took a plunge and simply started working.  

I have been compiling pictures from different Ladureé carts around the world, and using them for inspiration.  My cart was like this to start with:

Stock photo of the assembled cart

Comparing it with others that I had seen, there were several things I did not like:  the handles, for starters, and the fact that the body has the bottom way down, so anything you want to feature gets hidden, and you have to peek in.

So I decided to slightly alter it, to make it look more like this one:

 

So, I would be removing the handles and adding a "roof" and some legs.  I would also add kind of like a "table" to make the cart flush to show the merchandise.

Since I already had some painted parts, I decided to start making a pattern for the table in 1mm cardboard.  It was easy, and it served my purpose very well:

1mm cardboard did not seem very sturdy, so I used 5 mm foamboard to craft something that would not bend:

Just draw the pattern...

...and cut it to shape

Paint it mint green...

...and dry fit inside the cart

It's not perfect, but I am happy with the results!

Next, to craft the roof.  I used the same foamboard to cut two pieces, and painted them green (they need more coats, but that will be done tomorrow):

Next, to try to craft the legs:  I bought some stairs pillars from Tienda de Casitas.  I assembled the wheels, tried the pillars with them to check the size, and cut them to measure with the help of my husband:

 

They look wonderful!

I am so happy with them, because they look very similar to the ones in this picture:

 

So tomorrow I will be painting them green.  And I realized that I need to paint the columns that hold the roof in gold, so I will be doing that as well.

More tomorrow!

A new project in the making

We were in Paris a couple of weeks ago for our holiday vacation.  We had a great time, and I came home with my mind rested, but ready to start some new miniature projects.

First, a Ladureé cart.  

I am a big, big fan of the Ladureé macarons, and my husband gifted me a beautiful 12-piece box - I chose it in blue, because I already had one in green at home.  Today I ate the last piece (bo!), but I am ready to have my own lovely cart in miniature full of tiny macarons!

I had purchased an antique cart, and I had the idea of turning it into one of those candy carts that you used to see at parks selling candy to kids many years ago.  But somehow, the starting of the project never took place, so it sit in my shelf for quite some time.  When I came back from Paris, it was the moment the project started, at least in my head.

I had already glued some of the pieces (a bad movement on my part), but now the first thing was to paint everything in the brand colors of Ladureé - minty green and gold.  So I purchased an Americana bottle of paint (shade Pistachio Mint), and the work began:

Some of the glued pieces, others waiting to be

Ready to start!

First coat drying

Second coat, and more pieces painted

There is still a long way to go, but I have been researching pics of Ladureé carts in several locations, to look for inspiration, and yesterday I ordered some objects from one of my suppliers.  I cannot wait for them to arrive.  

In the meantime, I will finished the painting and the construction of the cart.  This is a picture of the cart I saw to inspire this:

Taken in the terrace of Galeries Lafayette Haussmann

 

And the second project, which is still far in the horizon but I will definitely make, is a vintage French café.  I already bought a pub bar and stools, just to keep them in storage.  But the cart will be finished first, no doubt!