Landscaping Progress, Tips and Resources

Although I still have a lot to go, I wanted to share some of the progress I am making on Alki Point with the landscaping. Don't consider this a tutorial - I am really just making stuff up as I go along. Consider it more an idea sparker (I hope) to those of you who, like me, find ideas and inspiration fleeting a lot of times.

I started working first on the planters, by painting them a cement kind of color by Americana called Driftwood. Why fight the 3D texture when you can just make it work for you, right? Concrete containers fit the bill in a modern setting, so this was a good stroke of luck! I then filled them about 3/4 of the way full with hot glue. This makes them more stable, less top heavy, and is a cost effective medium to use.

Now I needed to fill them with "plants". I bet a lot of you are like me - you like to hoard hang on to things you know that you will definitely use in your mini projects in the future. I have rescued many a silk or plastic flower arrangement from Goodwill, relatives, garage sales or when I find a good dollar store prospect. I have a drawer full of this stuff, and I always manage to put it to good use. Does it really naturally occur in nature? Some of it does, but I give my projects a lot of leeway in the imagination department.

For the larger planters, I just used a combination of the stuff in the photo. I could not begin to tell you what the plant species are (maybe the lichen) except to say that the purple and green one looks to me sort of like lavender. The green leafy one is just a good size, and I picked all of the foamy bits off the reddish one because it looked like a good ground cover. I Googled some planter photos so I'd have some idea about arranging them, and then I just winged it from there. I used a bit more hot glue to secure the main plant into the container. Once that was cooled off and set, I just added a layer of Tacky glue and filled it with lichen or moss. Once that was secure, I just added filler stuff until I liked the look. If it can employ gravity and stay in place while the glue dries, I used Tacky. If it wanted to get away from its place, I used a dab of hot glue on the end of the stalk and just hung on while it dried.

One of the goals I have for this year is to learn to make paper flowers and plants. I have several kits, paper and punches to learn on. I will attempt at that point to make actual species, but for now, these are just fabulous!

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In the medium sized container, I wanted a topiary. I have made these lots of times. They are really easy, and always turn out great! All you need is the container, of course, a twig that will accommodate the number of "bushes" you want, the bushes themselves and glue.

The bushes I used for this topiary are made by MBS. They feel foamy, although you can squish them and they pop right back into shape. Miniatures.com calls them "squeeze me" bushes. They are great to use, and look very realistic. If you don't have them on hand, you can always use foam balls (found in craft stores, usually in the floral department), or carve your own shapes with leftover Styrofoam packaging (use your imagination with all of the shapes they come in now). Then you can cover them with glue (hold it on a toothpick for this part - it's messy!) and sprinkle with any landscaping ground cover or clump foliage. There are YouTube videos on how to make your own ground cover, too!

I make a hole in the center of the bushes using a skewer. It is usually a little smaller around than the twig I am using, and that is a good thing. If you make a hole that is larger than the twig, the bush will want to fall right off. No one wants the bush too big for the twig! (Forgive me, I just couldn't resist!) Now take the twig and push it up through the top bush, but only about half way. Pull it back off, then apply a little tacky glue to the end of the twig. Put the top bush on and let it dry a bit. The second and any additional bushes can now be added from the bottom. Just push them on the twig just short of where you want them, apply a little tacky glue, and cover the glue with your bush. Play with the spacing, and Google "topiary" for ideas. I use hot glue to secure my twig into the container, leaving room in the top for moss or other ground cover.

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Speaking of ground cover, I needed to make little mounds of them for the planters in front of the deck. An economical way to do this is just like I told you above for the topiary bushes - carve or use Styrofoam. I used 1" foam balls, cut in half, stuck onto a toothpick, then painted them dark green.

To these, I add a layer of tacky glue, then dip them in Garden Growies, also sold by Miniatures.com. I got this bag back in 2012 when working on Encounters Gift's & Grub, and I still have some left! It's a good buy and great to have on hand! P.S. The 20% coupon is good through 2/16/16!

I'll leave them to dry overnight, then glue them on wherever I need a happy little mound of color!

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For the last bit of landscaping I did during this phase I used a new product for the first time - Woodland Scenics Small Trees Kit. These are made for model train dioramas, but are the perfect size for miniature bushes. The kit includes 5 tree armatures in varying sizes and a green webby material that you are supposed to stretch over the armature.

The armatures are made of a gray/brown colored plastic and are bendable in every way. I just bent and twisted until it seemed like a nice, full bush shape.

I didn't really like the stretchy green webbing stuff that came in the kit. It might look wonderful in 1:48 scale, but was not detailed enough for 1:12. Instead, I used Woodland Scenics Clump Foliage. It had bigger bush like clumps that were easy to glue onto the armature with Quick Grab Tacky. I've used it in the past and I like the way it looks.

They recommend that after the glue is dry that you spray on a product called Scenic Cement to set the bushes and harden them. The idea is to put it into a sprayer and mist it over the foliage. I used it, but can't say that I am awfully impressed. It really soaked the entire bush and took a long time to dry. It didn't really feel "set" when dry, either. I think maybe next time I'll just try some pump hair spray, or the make your own version from this YouTube Video. There are lots of railroad diorama how to videos on YouTube, so with a little time investment, you can really learn a lot.

All is well that ends well, and I like the finished result. Once I get the rest of the ground cover and plants added, it will look like the gardener comes by fairly often!



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Containers, Fountains and Resins - Oh My!

I made a lot of containers when I went through my whole 3D design spree last November. I had so much fun, and one idea would just sprout another idea and so on until I ended up with a whole lot of them. When I gathered them all up this morning, I sat and stared trying to figure out if I'd use them on Alki Point, and if so, how?

I had originally designed the Enliven square nesting bowl set to be used as a decor item. I quickly used up all of the space inside, so I decided that they could become planters for the outside. Except, then I looked at them, and thought "fountains"! I mixed and matched the bowls with some of the other containers to piece together a couple fountain designs. Since the effect from the 3D printing process leaves a kind of stepped texture, I thought painting them to look like concrete would be fun.

I decided I'd make two different fountains. For the first, I would use the middle and smallest sized square bowls, with the middle sized on top of another square planter, tilted forward so that it's water would run into the smaller bowl. I had to do some caulking and glue to make them appear as though they were one solid piece. After it dries I may have to add more due to shrinkage, and then touch it up with some additional paint. Don't you just love the texture!

I needed something to support the "water" as it cascaded into the smaller bowl, so I just cut a ramp (I guess you'd call it) from a piece of saved plastic packaging (see Russ, I told you I'd use it someday!) and glued that in. I sort of tapered it and I am hoping in the end it will look more realistic.

For the second fountain, I used the large bowl from the set and added the Resplendent Vase to the center as the water spout. I glued in a small piece of clear plastic straw to also give the "water" something to cling to. I am always looking for twigs and rocks and things when we explore our beautiful surroundings, and these tiny rocks are just the right size and variation in color!

To make the "water" I am trying a new product for the first time. It is called Magic Water, and I ordered it from miniatures.com when I had a 20% off coupon. I have to honestly say that for a full price cost of $29.39, I was expecting A LOT more.

It is pretty typical of epoxy/resin as there is a "part A" to be mixed with a "Part B". In the case of this product, it is two parts resin to one part hardener. It was disappointing that for the price, there was no measuring device, cups or stir stick included. I used the big bottle cap to measure both and just cleaned it with a paper towel after each part. I didn't want to put any of it on my measuring spoons. I poured it into one of the disposable Dixie cups I keep around just for this type of occasion. It cautions you to stir it for 5 minutes, then again for another 5 minutes, so I stirred it for a long time. The drying time is 24 hours for about 1/2" in thickness - kind of a long time to me.

I used the stir stick to drizzle the resin into the water spout on the one fountain, then over the ramp on the other, then pinched the Dixie cup into a spout to carefully pour over the rocks, letting it settle in before pouring more. The directions say that you can add Mod Podge over the top to simulate ripples, so I may give that a try tomorrow. If not that, I'll use some 5 minute epoxy and wait till it starts getting thick before I apply it to the waterfall ramp.

I'll get better photos of everything once they are all finished up, and let you know how the Magic Water did.

A note about my experience with other epoxy/resins:

I have used many other epoxy/resin brands and types in the past, so it will be interesting to compare how Magic Water stacks up. On hand, I have Amazing Casting Resin and Amazing Clear Cast. Right off the bat I can tell you they are both over $10 less per kit than the Magic Water, and there is a lot more resin and hardener - at least twice as much. Plus you get several measuring cups and a couple of stirrers.

I made items from these resins for my Starbucks project in 2013, and they are still holding up perfectly. The clear also takes 24 hours to dry, but the regular dries pretty clear and much faster. I have added artist chalk shavings into both to color my castings. It comes out still clear but colored like like soda pop. I have also added acrylic paint, and it comes out about the color quality of a creamsicle - a little milky, which was perfect when I cast gallon whole milk jugs! The white artists chalk worked awesome for 2% milk jugs. Unless the Magic Water unleashes the magic little people to come finish my landscaping for me tonight, I probably will stick to the Amazing brand in the future. To be continued...

All decked out...

Today was one of those days where I was able to focus a good deal of time on doing what I love to do: Make Progress On A Mini Project! And, it was one of those days where the concepts came easily, and the implementations manifested just like I had them worked out in my head. For me, those days are farther and fewer between than I'd like. So while all of this good juju was happening today, I was thoroughly enjoying myself!

I started out trying to remedy the fact that I did not install or run the wires to the exterior porch light behind the siding like I should have. Luckily, I had recently read Brae's post about concealing her wiring for Milo Valley Farm behind channel molding. Hey! That's a great idea! I installed the porch light on top of the channel molding (kind of gives it an 80's vibe), then ran the molding with the wires tucked inside all of the way around the back to the power strip. I'll get better photos once I have all of the wiring tidied up.

While running the channel molding, I thought I'd better just get Alki Point attached to it's base. Then there'd be more glue contact surface for the molding and therefore a better hold. Russ was kind enough to pick me up a 4'x8' piece of 1/4" plywood on his last trip to Home Depot, and he even cut the base piece out for me! A perfect 25"x18". Just what I needed! Have I mentioned that he's not only kind and handy - he's still pretty hot for a 51 year old! :O)

I marked out where I wanted the house to sit, traced it out in pencil, took the house back off the base, then ran a fat bead of tacky glue on the pencil line. I sat the house back on the base over the glue, then cleaned up the excess glue with the best tool my dad taught me about for glue and caulking - my finger!

Once the house was attached to the base, it was time to start framing out the decking. I used 1/4"x1/4" basswood as the outer frame and interior brace pieces. I glued them and clamped them, then when they were dry I applied a coat of the vinegar and steel wool stain.

While everything was drying, I stained about 24 pieces of 1/2"x1/16" deck board with the same stain. Then it was just a matter of letting them dry, then cutting them to length.

I used the same deck board to cover the ugly edge of the plywood on this side. I'll do the same to the other three sides as I begin the landscaping.

I had to weigh the boards down because they wanted to curl up. Also, the spacing between the deck boards was a challenge because not all of the deck boards were straight. I essentially had to eyeball it... Not too bad though. I really like the color variation in the boards, and any imperfections can be hidden with the planters and landscaping.

Not bad for a day's work, and good days like this only make me long for more of them. I hope the landscaping and the rest of the wiring go just as cooperatively!