COMPLETED PHOTOS AS PROMISED

FINAL PHOTOS

As promised yesterday I took some better photos today of the mostly finished treehouse. I have a couple of slight tweaks but they can't be done for a while so this is it. The hiding of the light wires and adding plates to the table are all that is left so in essence this is it!

BIG PUSH TO FINISH

Life Sometimes gets in the Way

It has been some time since I posted thinking I was almost done. Little did I know. I was delayed getting ready to visit my family on the mainland, then of course being there, and just last week I got home and after settling back down I finally made a big push the past couple of days to finish this up.

I again lost the bed I had made and found so it was faster to just make another one. It was

made using a piece of a branch 

hollowed out, and two leaf

beads were used for the head

and foot. The coverlet is a

skeletonized leaf as I wanted

a lace effect.

I also did a lot of work on the "landscaping" with a stream and a lot more mosses. The water was done with foil and I have a full tutorial on my web site: http://hilocreations.breezi.com

Here are some samples of the dried mosses I have been using. When they fade I can color them with inks (not to be spilled all over as I did yesterday!)

Below are a couple of the steps making the stream. I use foil bits, Sharpie pens to color, sprinkle sand, tiny rocks and bits of detritus. The moss bits were teased apart and placed bit by bit along the edge.

     



I needed another piece of furniture and friends suggested a dresser and mirror so I created that today as well. And I also inserted an LED at the top which is hidden but which gives a cool bluish light. I will be making some vines to cover the wiring and switch which go down the back of the tree.

There are one or two things that will be added - some dishes on the table, the above mentioned vines, and with some dry weather I will do a final photo outside and with a tripod.

                                             

ALMOST DONE

I have been a bit busy and had also misplaced a container where I put the bits and bobs for this scene - just to keep them safe! I finally found it and today I decided to do some gluing and try to finish it up. There are some tweaks and I have to find the bed I made for the "house" or make another one. But other than that and putting wings on the littlest fairy (and stand her up for my next photo) and also adjust the light that is under the cauldron which doesn't seem to show up right now.

Anyway, I took some photos today while I have decent light and this is the result.

 This is the full tree and base. I have a few bits of moss I am thinking of adding on the sides, and am also thinking of adding a stream in the depression on the base. It just says "stream" to me.














The little squirrel is sitting on a mushroom 
which is actually the screw anchoring a
support to the base.                       

This shows the skunk in the grass and a little rabbit on a fallen branch. The kettle is on and when I get the light adjusted you will see the heat.

A closer picture of the rabbit. 

And finally a picture of a fairy flying home. 

A few more tweaks will be done on the gourd opening and the bed needs to be added.

MOMENTUM

I am moving forward again today. Someone said I needed more critters for this scene (I was only going to have the bunny) so the challenge was issued. I started a couple of things but settled on a skunk. I will explain and show the details here.

I started with a piece of chenille stem and bent one end double for the head. The other end was just bent up for the tail. I used very fine wire for the legs.
 











I wrapped the wire around front and back and trimmed it.








I then proceeded to add black using a Sharpie marker. Note that for some reason the photo shows blue but I was too lazy to put it into photoshop to correct it. I went on line to see skunk images to get the pattern right. After the initial coloration I used the black Sharpie on the chenille stem and then started clipping it. I needed to add fullness and fill out the legs. 

 
I used my Super Glue Gel applied with a toothpick to the areas I needed to fill, then used tweezers to drop the clippings where I wanted them.  It is now starting to look a bit more skunk-like. The white isn't showing up white and the black is showing up as blue, but other than that it does look like a skunk. More so in real life than in the photo.

 I also needed a table and chairs so that was next.  I made a little pedestal by flattening out a cone-shaped pod from the branches I had. I did cheat with the table top as I couldn't seem to slice a piece thin enough from the branch so I used a wood disk from my collection. 

For the chairs, I sliced pieces from the branch and used my Dremel to sand the top area and bottom area to shape. I left a small part in the center for the seat, which I covered with small, fine moss. I am finding the iPhone is difficult to hold steady enough for sharp photos so I guess I will have to substitute some of these photos when I can set up my tripod.

 

MORE WORK DONE TODAY!

I am on a roll! I got most of the moss/leaves that I had available onto the tree but now I need to find more and dry it. Trying to decide if it looks alright as is, or if it needs to be fuller.

 







But after a lot of painstaking placement of "leaves" I decided to work on other elements. I made a bed with moss base and a bit of coconut sheath for the headboard. I'm afraid some of my photos are not totally sharp but I promise once I finish everything I will do my best to get clear photos.

I wanted to try my hand at making a tiny bunny so I cut a piece of chenille stem and left a bit of wire at the top. I snipped tiny bits of the white chenille to use for filler and to coat the bead I used for the head.

I used a paper punch that seemed just right for ears and snipped it down the center so the ears were more separated. I photographed the bunny next to a ruler but again trying to balance things by hand it did not turn out sharp but I left it in for size.  I did get a sharp picture which I am including as well. I have also added arms since this photo was taken.
 
 
 










 

My next project was to make a sink. I had some little seed pods which I thought would be perfect I sliced a bit from a branch and drilled a hole for the sink to sit in. 

A drop of glue in the hole and voila’ a fairy sink!

I have to decide if I am crazy enough to make utensils or dishes to go in it.











I needed a cooking fire but my "kettle" was a bit large, plus I didn't want to build a fire in the house. So I started making an arrangement of twigs and was thinking about whether I might add a light beneath it. I spied a piece of baby wipe and just for fun decided to see how the fibers might tweeze out. A bit of Sharpie coloring and I really like the effect.
 

There was a nice little bit of branch with a kind of burl on it and I thought it might be a good place for the bunny. There are now arms which did not show up in the photo. 






I am trying some placement of the elements on the base and also am trying to make some other decisions.

 A pot belly stove in the room? I started one but now am not sure if I will use it. I think I need a table and I did make a chair before I started on this big push. I thought I had a picture of it, but seems I can't find it but here are some of the fairies I have experimented with.
 I will definitely NOT use the middle one as she is too big and the skirt is too stiff. The left hand fairy with the wand is a possibility as is the very tiny one on the right


 and in the single photo to the left here. These were prototypes so I will have to see where I go with them.








I am running out of steam today but might get back to making the table and chairs. It has been very satisfying after a long run of not making anything and there really isn't all that much that will be needed to finish this poject. YAAAAYY!


 

MAKING A FAIRY TREEHOUSE

Some time ago I received some miniature gourds so I decided to make a fairy abode. I started it, but then put it away as I had other projects to finish. Having completed Sweeney Todd, I came back to this little project and decided to try to finish it up. I didn't think to do a progress blog until a couple of days ago so the starting elements are not photographed. I will talk a little bit here about what I had done.

The base was a piece of bark I had laying around the house. I used my Dremel to cut the front opening and inserted a piece of veneer for the floor. Painted the walls a light green and finished the opening with the covering from some electrical wire. This makes a great edging and since you can get so many sizes and colors of wire it is very useful. I will add something later on to hide the corner joins.

I started the trunk with a section of wire cable that had many wires. It was twisted and the base was separated out to form roots.

I added a branch from a tree and integrated it all with a coating of epoxy clay making a bark like texture. When that was hardened I painted it with various browns and greens and I drilled into the base and slipped some of the wires through and anchored them with knots, twists and super glue. I should mention here that my favorite glue for this purpose is called Future Glue Gel and is made by the original Super Glue company. I buy it whenever I find it as it is not readily available here in Hilo.

I had some little branched bits that I decided to use for the foliage. I started by drilling into the branches on the "trunk" and using Future Glue I  put sections of the branched bits into the holes that I had drilled.

Meanwhile when I was working in my yard on a dry day I collected some various mosses and let them dry.  Today I began adding bits of moss to the little branches, again using the Future Glue. I tease out little sections and glue them to the branches bit by bit. It is time consuming but I think I like the effect so far. If I change my mind later I could pull it all apart and try something else. If the moss loses color it is easy to add it back with thinned acrylic paints but I do like the variety of natural colors that give it a more realistic look.