Upcycle a Vintage Cafe Set for Barbie

Barbie's teen sisters love to 'hang-out' and have their sodas around our vintage cafe table and
chairs. Their enjoying the cool summer breezes this year. At night, after the sun goes down,
they might even need a light weight sweater to ward off the slight chill in the air.

       To make this cafe set you will need: four plastic dollar store chairs for Barbie sized dolls, one table-like looking candle stand, decorative papers, Mod Podge, acrylic paints and green tissue paper.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Paint to change the color and feel of the candle stand. I chose to give this cafe table an aged copper look by spray painting it first with metal-like copper finish and then dulling it down with an aqua paint. 
2. Then to make the table's top I inserted a cardboard piece cut to the exact size of the opening and glued it in place from underneath the table legs.
3. After painting the top of the table with black acrylic paint, I then proceeded to glue tiny square, paper tile shapes in an abstract pattern across the surface of the table.
4. Seal the mosaic design using Mod Podge of course for that perfect finish!
5. To make matching, old looking chairs, I 'upcycled' the inexpensive plastic chairs. I wanted these to have a similar looking surface to a set that my grandmother once owned and kept outside on her back porch. Her's were painted red metal chairs from the 1940s or 50s I think. But, I chose to give these a green finish instead. Start this process by applying a coat of Mod Podge and layering onto the chair random tears of green tissue paper. This will create an aged faux metal surface.
6. Keep building up the surface with tissue and paint until you are satisfied with this altered surface. It is delicate work but the end results are marvelous. 
7. Seal the surfaces again with Mod Podge.

Left, friends and soda pop. Center, vintage looking metal chairs arranged around the faux paper
mosaic embellished table top. Right, we have four altered chairs that stack neatly in storage.

 

Left, the candle stand was purchased at a thrift market for fifty cents; it is just the right height for
 Barbie and her family. Center, I traced around the stand's edges and cut a cardboard insert for
the table-top. Then spray painted it copper. I will paint the legs here and there with a bit of aqua
acrylic to give the table legs a weathered copper look. Right the table top's mosaic design was
 crafted using tiny cuts of paper glued down to a painted black surface.

These purple plastic chairs were purchased from a dollar store, four for a dollar.
You can see I'm beginning to alter their finish with glue and tissue paper.

•  See another table for Barbie that was made using large life-size tiles here.