making—alice's cafe signage

when i asked missy about what sorts of things alice would like for her birthday this year, she said that they were getting alice a melissa and doug kitchen, so food toys would be a good gift. well, knowing that the jones clan already has a pretty well stocked pantry (i got to see it in action last time we visited), i wasn't exactly sure what kinds of food toys alice might need/want. so after looking at some different options and thinking on things, i happened on a couple of blog posts here that got me inspired (post 1, post 2, post 3), and i decided that i should make something that (i was hoping) no one else would duplicate. hence, alice's cafe.
i bought a wood plaque at michael's and painted it up. it took me a while to settle on fonts, and then a longer time to decide on the tea cup (missy said that alice has been serving her lots of flavored teas, so i thought this might be appropriate), but i really like how it turned out.

i also thought a cafe wouldn't be complete without a menu board (i got to use chalkboard paint for this one—i've been dying to have an excuse to get some chalkboard paint!)

lastly, i felt the cafe would probably need a sign so that customers would know when it was open for business. i got two little wood rectangles and painted them up and then stuck them back to back with the ribbon in between. 

i hope alice enjoys them. i really had a good time painting it all, and sam really enjoyed going to the store and helping me to pick out the wood and paint colors. he was quite excited by the time we got home and is hoping to visit soon so he can help out at the cafe. in fact, he was so enthusiastic about it all that i've decided to create some "sam's diner" signage (he's quite the imaginary chef around here, in case you were unaware), so stay tuned for that post later in the month!