Vintage

Making a Tree

The trunk of the tree was made from a dead branch in an Azalea bush. I tried to choose a branch that resembled a tree with several branches. To preserve the branch, I coated it several time with clean nail polish. Next, to add the tree, I used pieces of medium green foliage from Woodland Scenics. The image to the left actually shows a package of lichen. However, I felt the foliage would be a better choice and went with that.

Using tacky craft glue, I glued pieces of the foliage to branches until I was satisfied with the the realistic look. I then glues the tree into the saucer of molding plaster where a hole was made before the plaster dried.You might need to clue a bit of the trunk to the side of the cup to help stabilize it.

Vines and Ground Cover

Spread tacky glue over the area of the "dirt where you want to show grassy areas. Remember that if you don't get the grass even, it doesn't really matter as the "dirt" that doesn't get covered by grass will show through for a more natural look.

Using Woodland Scenics Course Turf and tacky glue, cover your grassy areas.

The vines going up the back and over onto the top of the cup are made using pieces of Woodland Scenics Poly Fiber. Pulls pieces into strands and glue on the cup.

There are places where I placed little purple flowers both on the ground and on the vines. These were cut from flowers bought at a local craft store. You would need to choose flowers that have tiny flowers similar to queen anne's lace. Cut off tiny individual flowers and glue on the ground and vines.

Cattails
To make the cattails, you will need green covered florist wire, plain green florist wire, florist tape in both dark and light green. Brown fimo, ground cinnamon, and tacky graft glue. Cut various lengths of the covered florist wire. Roll out a thin layer of fimo and cut a piece to fit around the florist wire about 1/8 inch below the top end. Bake according to the directions on the Fimo package. To make the leaves, you will need to cut two lengths of florist tape, one of each color. Using tacky glue, glue a piece of regular florist wire between the florist tape. Place the wire about 1/2 inch below the top end of the leave. When dry, trim the sides and top to resemble the leaves of the cattail plant. These leaves would be thin. Make sure that some remain upright while other leaves bend down into the wet ground and water.

Caladium Plants

On the same side that has the tree, is a small grouping of caladium plants.In the real world, you would have varying sizes of plant leaves. The same applies to the ones in our miniature project. To make the leaves, I created a page of leaves. I cut these out and glued them to pieces of green covered florist wire. Use the smallest size available. You will need to bend each stem to form a tiny loop and then bend the main stem in a 90 degree angle.

I also used some pieces of small queen ann's lace plastic flowers among the caladiums.
On the inside, I finished with several larger rocks and a stick to resemble a log. It's hard to see in the picture, but there is a turtle peeping out of the cattails and a cat standing on the log inside. I again placed a few caladiums inside along with a few of the Queen anne's lace flower clusters. You can store your finished project inside a glass dome.