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Make trees and shrubbery in colors of green, orange, yellow, red, or a mix of colors as they occur in nature. There are different methods which are used to make your own trees from your local vegetation unless you wish to purchase commercial products. If you are anything like me, crafting original works is more fun and in many ways makes for better construction, variety, and more importantly made to the desired specifications. Model railroaders want their landscaping to look as realistic as possible. Making trees and shrubbery from nature’s availability found in your back yard is as real as it gets. I have access to reindeer moss which is lichen. Lichen is a type of fungus and algae which is found in nature. I live near a woody area and have access to this type of plant life. When it rains it turns green and during dry weather it has a grayish or very light green color. When wet it gets spongy in texture. In its dry state it will retain its shape. Crafters use this type of moss for wreaths, flower arrangements, and topiaries. Model trail enthusiasts utilize it for realistic trees and shrubbery landscaping. Lichen can be purchased in different colors to represent all seasons of the year. As a model train craftsman; make your own trees and shrubbery. How to prepare lichen 1. Clean by removing any pine needles, dirt, twigs, etc. 2. Trim away unwanted debris or discoloration. 3. Place moss in a pot with one part glycerin to 3 parts water, boil, let cool for about an hour. 4. Add cool color dye to the solution. The amount of soaking time will determine the lightness or darkness of the color. 5. Remove lichen from the dye bath and spread out on paper to dry. 6. Lichen will store in a plastic bag for future use. Not care to make your trees or other shrubbery? Make your purchases at your local hobby or craft stores or online. If you prefer be your own craftsman, make trees from nature’s abundance which is free and readily available from the local outdoors. Put your crafting skills to work. In truth, you will be quite impressed with your results. Make trees from dried plants Walk around your yard and select any dry plant growth which you feel will make excellent trees. Keep in mind the scale which you are working with. Select dried plants which may be the perfect size or will trim easily to fit the landscaping. Much information is available in books, craft magazines, flower magazines, and online which help you to identify the plants and instructions on care and drying methods. These small branches, sprigs, weeds, and cultured plants can be sprayed with stain or paints to enhance their appearance. Spraying or painting may be all that is needed to complete the desired finish. Others may be the skeleton of the tree and will need leaves applied to their naked branches. The leaves are made from ground foam which is a product which may be purchased from any hobby, craft, and online stores, or make your own. How to make ground foam 1. Use any soft foam gathered from discarded pillows, cushions, or purchase cheap foam sponges. 2. Cut into very small pieces and place in blender to shred into tiny pieces. 3. Colorize with craft paints or fabric dyes. 4. Let foam dry very thoroughly before using. 5. Separate the different colors into individual containers. 6. Select tree, spray with glue, and then gently roll the tree in the ground foam mix. 7. Gently shake to remove excess ground foam. 8. Spray with black or brown paint for reality accents 9. Make a small batch, a little goes a long way. This method will allow the tree to look like a real tree as you will see the branches and tree trunk as they appear in nature. Place your tree into the selected foundations which you have prepared. Landscape foundations Prepare landscape drawings as a blueprint for the landscaping design. Place Styrofoam, foam squares, paper Mache or other materials which you wish to use for the trees, shrubbery, weeds and grasses. Place your trees into position. Much shrubbery will cover bare spots or paint foundations before planting trees. White glue is favored for applying smaller shrubbery, ground cover, and grasses. Want to learn more in addition to how to make trees and shrubbery? Visit the hobbies section of www.Infotrish.com or check out assemblingmodeltrains.infotrish.com and review Model Trains for Beginners. Tricia Deed
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