It’s a slow day at the Seaside Diner, a favorite local hangout. It’s the best place in town to eat breakfast and lunch, or sit at the counter and drink coffee with your friends!
This diner was a project that I’ve been wanting to build for a long time; not for me, but for my mom’s dolls. I got the chance to do it this month when I went to visit my parents, after not being able to see them for over a year. Throughout this entire pandemic, we’ve been brainstorming about what we’d do when we were together again after they received their COVID vaccines. The entire time, I’ve had lots of ideas rattling around in my head about how I would make this project happen.
Within the diner, there’s a counter with two barstools, a corner booth with seats and a table, a pie display case, storage shelves for newspapers and to-go boxes, and a cash register. All of the structures are glued onto the sturdy base frame.
I based this on the American Girl playset produced for Maryellen Larkin’s collection. Maryellen’s historical year is 1954, and this set is meant to represent the diners that were popular at the time.
I also incorporated Maryellen’s diner bakery set (AG’s is sold separately) into my reproduction.
My mom doesn’t actually have Maryellen and probably won’t ever get her, so this is mostly for Melody, Julie, and her modern characters to use.
Usually when I reproduce AG products, I can look at a few pictures to get a basic idea of where to start. I also watch review videos to see close pictures of the details and the construction. I took note of what I wanted to reproduce and what I wanted to change. There were a few things about AG’s products that my mom didn’t like–mainly, the small size of the set in comparison with the price. She wanted something a little more proportional for a lot less money, because both the diner and the bakery together will cost around $450. I was able to make this reproduction for around $20.
For some of the smaller graphics and accessories, I used printables from AmericanGirlIdeas.com, including the menus, guest checks, paper hats, and newspapers. I used the tutorial for barstools and the booth table and chairs from that same site.
The book gives instructions on how to make a no-sew server uniform and roller skates. Most of the posters and logos came from the craft kit.
This is going to be a really long post showing all the components, so keep reading to see the details and find out how I made everything!
I’ll start by giving a tour of the diner before it opens for business, and then I’ll show all the small details that keep the diner caring for its customers on an average day. And I hope that my inclusion of instructions inspires some of you to consider opening your own 50′s-style diner for your dolls!
