The beginning of this room centers around a reception room. The box will have a wooden back wall and floor. The front, sides and top will be glass that is framed in with angle molding. I used birch plywood 11 13/16" X 8 1/2" X 1/4". The floor will be 11 13/16" X ____ X 1/4". The wall paper is an off white with a shiny iridescent look (almost golden). I choose a moss green carpet. these colors do not reflect the room that the reception will be held in. But then, it's the thought that counts.

The Banquet Table
I used the measurements of a real banquet table to arrive at the size of the miniature version. I cut the top, legs and the framing for the underside of the table from bass wood. As the table has a covering, I didn't stain or paint it. I bought white satin like material, an off-white tulle with gold flecks, white ruffling, and 1/8" gold ribbon to make the table covering. The table will be used to hide the music box.

The Refreshments
I made a quick call to the caterers that will be taking care of the party to find what will be served. Again, I do not know what type of serving plates will be used except for a chafing dish which will hold the meatballs. There will be a seasonal fruit tray with dip, a vegetable tray with dip, strawberries dipped in chocolate, nuts, petite ham biscuits, and of course a cake. My aunt and uncle decided on a sheet cake instead of a tiered cake. At this time, the type of punch is undetermined. the choices are of a cranberry punch or a lemon/pineapple punch. I will probably choose one which will be the one they don't choose. Again, it's the thought.

Ham Biscuits
I used Fimo® to make the "biscuits" and "ham". For the biscuits, I used a flesh colored clay mixed with some white. The ham is made from a mixture of copper, brown, flesh, and transparent clay. I took a small amount of the "biscuit" clay and rolled out a thin layer on my baking tile. Next I did the same for the "ham" clay. I placed the "ham" clay on top of the first layer of "biscuit" clay. then I made another "biscuit" layer and placed on top of the "ham" clay. Finding something to cute the ham biscuits out was the hard part. I tried a regular drinking straw first. However, these looked like hamburgers rather than ham biscuits. So, back to looking for the perfect cutter. I found a coffee stirrer that is like a smaller version of a drinking straw. Perfect!!!! I cut out the ham biscuits. To bake, preheat the over to 265°. Place the tile with the fimo® in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. When done, allow the "ham biscuits" to cool. Brush some thin brown paint across the top and glue to a serving platter that has a paper doily.

The Punch Bowl
According to the caterer, the type of punch was "undetermined" when I called. It had been narrowed down to two, a cranberry based punch or a pineapple based punch. This gives me a 50/50 chance that I will choose right. I chose cranberry because it would add some extra color. I purchased a Chrysnbon punch bowl set, come miniature "ice," and some "scenic water." I also purchased some dye to color the "punch and Scenic "milk" for making the dip for the vegetable tray. To make the punch, you follow the directions on the Scenic Water. When melted and then colored, pour into the punch bowl. Add the ladle and the mini ice cubes.

Meatballs
The meatballs were made from brown Fimo®. I made a snake as I did when making the fruits and pinched off small pieces which I rolled into small balls. After I had made 20+ "meatballs". These were baked according to the directions. When cool, I placed them in a metal miniature bowl which I painted gold. Next, I used the Scenic Water that I colored a darker red with a small drop of purple/black to make the water a really dark red and poured over the meatballs.

 Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
The strawberries were made when I made the ones for the fruit platter. After baking, I painted a part of the strawberry with dark chocolate paint. I cut out a flower from a paper doiley and glued it to a metal miniature place that had been painted gold. next, I glued the strawberries to the plate.

 Vegetable Tray/Dip
The next project is that of the vegetable tray and dip. The dip was made from Sceneic Water with Scenic Milk added and a bit of real dill sprinkled on top. I used a metal ice cream cup for the dip container which I painted gold. Still keeping with the 50th anniversary gold. For the vegeatable tray, I chose a rectangle shaped metal miniature serving fray which I painted gold.

After painting the tray gold, I made the different veggies for the tray. Again, I use Fimo® to make all on the tray.

The carrots are made from orange and transparent fimo. Each carrot was shapped individually but creating a snake like shape. Pinching off a small ball. Then rolling that ball into a oblong carrot shape.

The brocolli was made from green, blue and transparent clay. Again, I formed a long snake shape. After pinching off a small piece and shaping into a ball, I rolled it into a small think snake shape. Holding the clay at the end, I used the sharp end of a toothpick to form the flowerets. I did the same for the cauliflower. For the pimento stuffed olives, I mixed green, brown, yellow, and transparent clay until I had the proper olive color. I made snake shapes of the olive color and with some of the red left ofver from the strawberries. I pinched off a bit of the green and formed a tiny oblong ball. Then I did the same with the red only smaller. using a toothpick, I pushed the red into the olive oblong ball. For the pickles, I mixed some white with the olive color used for the olives and then added more transparent. In fact, I used a lot of the transparent so that the pickles would be more realistic. After forming the pickle dough into a thin rope, I cut pieces about 1/4" long and then each piece into halves and each half again in half. Some of the pickle spears also resembled celery, so we now have celery on the platter.

Fruit Platter
According to the caterer, the fruit platter will have cantelope, honeydew melon, grapes, pineapple, and strawberries. Our miniature reception table can have no less. Here is how I made the miniature fruit and combined to make the miniature fruit platter.

Melon Pieces
I made the miniature cantelope and honeydew melon using the same method as I did for the veggie tray. For the cantelope, I mixed together orange, white, and transparent fimo®. For the honeydew, I mixed green, yellow, white and transparent fimo® in amounts that closely resembles the melon. For both, I made a snake like shape and then broke off a small piece and rolled in a ball. being the anal miniaturist that I am, I cut the ball in half and made an indention in the center of each half. Then I cut the half melon into 4 slices. The slices I cut into "bite sized" pieces. I then placed the melon bites in the oven and baked for 20 minutes at 250-265°.

Grapes
The miniature grapes are made from a combination of Green, yellow, and transparent Fimo® . After mixing the clay, I made a cone shape and inserted a small stem from some dried flowers I had on hand. Next I broke off tiny balls of clay and added them to the cone shape making sure they stuck. As I worked on the grapes, I tried to shape the bunch of grapes into a more realistic shape.

Pineapple
The pineapple was made from yellow and transparent clay. I added a touch of white clay. Again, being anal, I rolled the clay into a snake like shape. I cut circles and then put a hole oin the center of each much like you would see in a real pineapple. Next, I cut each "doughnut" shaped piece into miniature bite-sized pieces. Again, I baked at the suggested temperature and time for Fimo®.

Strawberries
With the strawberries, I used red and transparent clay for the actual berry and green mixed with transparent for the leaves. After mixing the colors, I rolled both into snake shapes. I pinched off a small part of the red and rolled into a small cone shape. using my blunt ended tweezers, I made an indention in the larger end of the strawberries. Next I took some green and made a tiny ball shape which I flattened and pressed into the indention made on the bigger end of the strawberry. Again, I baked the clay according to the directions.

I assembled the mini-fruit onto a miniature serving plate and lightly painted with a sealer that has some gloss to it. Oh, the fruit tray was to have a bowl of dip but I left that off.

Putting It All Together
Time to work on the actual box. It's hard to describe how my son cut the 1/2 inch angle molding so that there would be mitred edges on all sides of the box except the back. I used an L-square held to the plexiglass with small clamps and a special plastic cutter to score the plexiglass. After scoring, we broke the plexiglass along the scored edge.

The side pieces of plexiglass was cut to fit inside the ends of the box. So before I cut the plexiglass, I placed the crown molding and the baseboard pieces on the wallpapered wall leaving space for the plexiglass. I also glued the bottom and back pieces of angle molding so that they will help hold the plexiglass in place. I also glued the music box to the back wall so it will be hidden under the table. A hole was drilled for the wind-up key.

I purchased two chairs from a craft store that would look good in the room. I also made two plants to place on either side of the table and using pieces of wood, made presents to sit on the chairs. Enclosing the box in plexiglass was not the easiest thing to do. My son, Jon, helped with that part of the project. We still could not get the box to mitre was is shouod as we choose a difficult compound mitre to cover the edges.

Did my uncle and aunt like their present? One picture is worth a thousand words!

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