Welcome to Syd's Place! When I was younger, I dreamed of owning and operating a florist/cafe shop so that others could enjoy two of my favorite things: coffee and fresh flowers. I made this project to pay homage to the dreams of my younger self, and to show her how far she has come. I also wanted to explore making a slightly larger diorama than I ever have before, and practice using the necessary materials for accomplishing that goal.
Syd's Place serves as a simple decoration piece and was made so that I could continue to practice skills such as 3D modeling, hand-painting models, vinyl cutting, and working with fine details.
I began this project by modeling the overall shape of the cafe in Fusion360. I then converted these files into one's that could be cut out on a laser cutter.
After cutting the pieces from wood and gluing them together, I painted the wood with acrylic paint. From there, I added fake greenery and succulents to the roof to give the model a a more dimensional feel.
After the paint dried, I then began building furniture (table, chair, counter) out of foam core by hand. I then hot glued and painted these pieces. To add some texture to the model, I cut small bits of fabric to cover the chair and serve as a rug. To make the heart display and flowers, I worked with polymer clay and baked them so they would be dry enough to glue down.
Lastly, I used a vinyl cutter to cut out "Syd's Place" before sticking it on a foam core sign that I cut. I then added a step to get into the cafe and hand-painted polka dots to add a sense of cuteness to the overall feel. For a final touch, I modeling small pink hearts out of polymer clay and attached them to the front beside the door.
To add a sense of coziness, I added some simple LED bulbs and batteries behind the counter to mimic the warm glow of candle light.
