Shareb Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 Hi all - so I'm finally working on the treehouse that I was going to do 3 years ago! I'm ready to start creating the back effect on the outside and the wood effect on the inside walls. There are numerous ways of doing this but I'm not sure which one is the best to use. 1) Build up the tree with tinfoil, then glue paper towels (serviettes) over the top. Paint. 2) Build up with tinfoil and then cover in paper clay. Paint. 3) Use papier-mache to build up and then paint directly on to that when dry. Would love some advise please! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shannonc60 Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 Never done it but I’d be inclined to go with option 2. I read that Joan Wheatley made her bark from torn up card plants pots. I can imagine egg cartons would also work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 Make sheets of paper mache and tear them into pieces or else texture it as you apply. If you make the pulped mixture you can add a base color to the mix and then dry brush details after it's applied. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalesq Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 I used egg carton, paper bag, card stock, and gel medium for Moonlight Retreat. I was looking for a redwood effect so depending upon what Type of tree you want, your build up of texture will vary. For the interior I used veneer sheets cut to fit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shareb Posted September 2, 2019 Author Share Posted September 2, 2019 2 hours ago, Dalesq said: For the interior I used veneer sheets cut to fit. I love that look! Which vaneer sheets did you use? I doubt I'll find the same here but you never know! I really love the texture on the outside of your tree.....and I found the pic that you took of just the brown paper.....thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shareb Posted September 2, 2019 Author Share Posted September 2, 2019 So no definite ONE way is best then! I'll see what I have and make the call. I may leave the paper clay - I bought it for the staircase I was going to make. You can't get it here and I had to order it in from the US at great cost - so maybe I'll put that aside and use everything else I have! Thanks all - I'll show you when done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 20 minutes ago, Shareb said: So no definite ONE way is best then! ... I think we ought to have that tattooed on the insides of our eyelids. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shareb Posted September 2, 2019 Author Share Posted September 2, 2019 59 minutes ago, havanaholly said: I think we ought to have that tattooed on the insides of our eyelids. Lol Holly! You're absolutely right!!! @Dalesq - what size was the static grass from Mini-Nature that you used on your treehouse? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grazhina Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 I did a tree stump years ago using a papier mache product called Celluclay. I wrote a long tutorial on the tree trunk house which includes working with the celluclay. Just scrolldown to day 14. The picture shows the tree trunk before I painted it. Since then I've also discovered that styrofoam is easily carvable into bark shape with a wood burning tool. - 2nd picture, painted "wood" 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shareb Posted September 3, 2019 Author Share Posted September 3, 2019 Love it @grazhina I hadn't given any thought to the inside ceiling - love your beams and I'll attempt something similar!! Love Sylvanians - my daughter collected them when she was younger. Another effective way to create bark - thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shannonc60 Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 10 hours ago, Shareb said: So no definite ONE way is best then! I'll see what I have and make the call. I may leave the paper clay - I bought it for the staircase I was going to make. You can't get it here and I had to order it in from the US at great cost - so maybe I'll put that aside and use everything else I have! Thanks all - I'll show you when done! Rebecca, not sure it helps, but Fairy Meadow Miniatures stocks Paperclay. But not sure how much to ship from Aus to NZ. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 If you can find a blender or a food processor at a thrift shop to dedicate there are loads of recipes online for making papermache. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shareb Posted September 3, 2019 Author Share Posted September 3, 2019 Thanks @shannonc60 It would probably be cheaper to get it from Australia than US. I've saved Fairy Meadow Miniatures to my favourites!!! Can't wait to get my parcel from you!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalesq Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 On 9/2/2019, 3:12:51, Shareb said: Lol Holly! You're absolutely right!!! @Dalesq - what size was the static grass from Mini-Nature that you used on your treehouse? I use tufted grass sheets that have varied lengths of grass, usually 2 and 6 millimeter mixed for a realistic effect. I trim with scissors if I want it shorter. Scenic Express has lots of options, but I also buy through eBay products like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/HEKI-MINI-FOREST-ALL-SCALE-TUFTGRASS-SPRING-BN-1841/323823479142?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131003132420%26meid%3Dfdf6284870ce473caf7a1b3be326decb%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D323823479516%26itm%3D323823479142%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalesq Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 On 9/2/2019, 1:40:41, Shareb said: I love that look! Which vaneer sheets did you use? I doubt I'll find the same here but you never know! I really love the texture on the outside of your tree.....and I found the pic that you took of just the brown paper.....thanks!! For the top inside walls I used zebra wood veneer. Each floor was a different wood (again veneer sheets) that had knots. I was looking for ones with concentric rings to give the effect of the floors being within the center cut of the tree. Just a heads up, the veneer was tricky. It wanted to bubble and warp (especially the floors). My parlor floor bubbled badly, but I saved it with patience and a mini iron. See my gallery post about the floor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalesq Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 For the roots I used foam that I carved with a heat knife. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shareb Posted September 4, 2019 Author Share Posted September 4, 2019 Thanks for that Debora! I've already done the floor so that's not an issue. I'm going to spend the day playing with the internal walls today. Love the idea of roots out of foam - not quite sure yet how I'm going to do the base. I'm focusing on the inside as I'm considering how I'll run the lighting wiring. If I don't do the outside I'll be able to run the lighting down the outside walls and then cover them up with the 'bark'. Makes sense - we'll see if it works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icewolf Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 If I was going to do this, then I'd probably use the paper mache method because you have to think about how heavy it is going to be once it's dry. Clay would probably be too heavy if the project's large. You can shape the paper mache as you put layers on it which is useful if you wanted to give your project a rounded appearance like a tree. I used tissue paper in one of my projects (it was to do the base of a quarter scale house.) and I chose it because it was easy for me to scupt when it was wet! It does take a while to build up the layers though and you need to make sure that you don't put too many layers while the mixture is still wet as it needs to dry. If there's too many wet layers put on at once it won't dry properly. I don't know what it's like using a heavier type of paper, but it's quite inexpensive to do it that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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