Leaves!

I tried another experiment, too. I want autumn leaves around in my scene, but I want them to be realistic. I ended up using regular printer paper, markers in various reds, browns, oranges and yellows, and a Fiskars leaf corner punch to get some great results.

I cut strips of paper wide enough to give me two good corner punches. I colored the paper on both sides with the markers and let it dry almost completely. I then went over the paper a second time with the same color, again on both sides, and let it dry completely. I wanted a variety of colors as you can see. :]

I also made two strips of browns only.

Using all three leaf shapes, I punched out leaves from both corners at the end of the strip and then cut the paper above the holes left behind. I then punched the next section and so on. The markers had curled the paper a bit, which added some nice texture to the punched leaves.

Nice little pile of leaves with good variegated color and thin texture. :D

I have more in store for these leaves to add to the realism, but it’s a good start!

As you can see, I’ve been making all sorts of colors, some deep in hue and some faded. I absolutely love the way they turned out!

I used a ball stylus to create veins in the leaves. The stylus not only curled them but it made the top side shiny.

It also left raised veins on the backs.

The only thing that gives them away up close is the large stem. I could cut each one down and color it darker, but really? I have to draw the line of sanity somewhere. I’m already adding veins to each one individually.

Besides, they are very convincing when viewed as a group. :D

Categories: Flowers, plants, and trees, The Haunted Heritage
October 20, 2011 | 0 comments

Snake Plant

One of the few remaining items from my earlier dollhouse days is a book on making miniature plants out of florist tape called Miniature House Plants by Ruth Hanke. I made an elephant ear plant from a DVD called Master Miniaturists: Flowers & Plants. It has a similar approach.

There are a ton of house plants in this 1988 book, and I know I’ve made at least one of them before.  This time around, I opted for the snake plant.

For the dirt, I glued in a piece of styrofoam into a ceramic pot. I then covered the surface with tacky glue and sprinkled on earl grey tea.  It has a nice peat moss quality.

In the book example, while the author did include painting the rough stripes of the plant, she didn’t include the wide light green outer edges so I added those based on the real deal. :D I then sealed the leaves with Delta Ceramcoat Satin Varnish.

I poked holes in the styrofoam base, clipped the long wires and glued each leaf in place. The plant stand is a McQueenie Miniatures kit I made previously.

I rather like how this plant turned out. :D I think I’ll be making a few more examples from this book.

Note: for those of you who work in half scale, this book includes both 1″ and 1/2″ scale patterns. 

Categories: Flowers, plants, and trees
July 19, 2011 | 0 comments

Flowers and shells

I made some Bonnie Lavish Dahlias in orange. I made red ones previously but this time used Bonnie’s veiner for a much more realistic leaf texture. The vases are from Manor House Minis and were originally pale green.

The second is a shadow box made from strip wood and painted Mushroom by Folk Art. I sanded the edges to make it more rustic. The shells are approximately 1/4″ and the largest starfish is about 1/2″ in size. :] All came from Marco Island Shells.

Categories: Flowers, plants, and trees, Miniatures
June 28, 2011 | 0 comments

Bonnie Lavish Sunflowers

Bonnie Lavish kits are super easy, and today I made sunflowers. There’s a field on the way to work that has sunflowers planted about every other year, sometimes two years in a row. So pretty.

The vase is from Manor House Miniatures. It reminds me of a bee. :D The table is a Concord miniature I refinished. The kit instructions suggested adding flocking or sand to the centers, so I made some flocking using DMC 3371 and sharp scissors.

I purchased a set of stylus tools as well as Bonnie’s leaf veiners, which I think are the bee’s knees! These made life so much easier. Here are two leaf pairs…one before and one after using the veiner.

In addition to loving sunflowers, I love the German name for them, too! Sonnenblumen. :D

Categories: Flowers, plants, and trees
June 3, 2011 | 0 comments

Elephant Ear Plant

I made an elephant ear plant following the instructions on a DVD called Master Miniaturists: Flowers & Plants. I love this whole series. There are a lot of great books out there, but there is nothing like watching someone demonstrating a technique.

I’m not going to post a tutorial on this plant since I made it based on someone else’s work, but here is the finished product. It is made with floral tape and covered wire. I bought the planter and used cinnamon plum tea for potting soil. :D

The plant was supposed to be made of light green tape (see the DVD cover above), but dark green was what I found at the craft store. I am very pleased with the result regardless of the difference in color. The one thing I will do that wasn’t mentioned on the DVD is use a sealer on the tape once the glue has completely dried. The surface of the leaves is still sticky, and I think sealing it might keep the dust from clinging to it. It will also enhance the waxy appearance of the leaves.

Categories: Flowers, plants, and trees
November 24, 2009 | 0 comments