Sonntag, 24. Juli 2011

Please don't make this mistake

This will be a longer post, but perhaps it is useful for some you . I have made this monastery garden two years ago together with Karin for a customer . It took a long time after planing, building and planting and we were very proud . So but I have made the mistake, to trust a new material which came out in our shop for model railway . It was called " Moss for glade " , a product of Busch ( a German company ). What I didn't know, that it was a natural building material !
This is the result after two years , the whole grass looks sere and withered ! So that's why made these photos today, please don't take natural material for miniature garden. It is only for a short time , after that you can cast it away . As I saw this by my customer, I took the garden and promised to refresh it completely. Fortunately he is also a good friend and he wasn't angry about that what happened .
And this was my day : I put every flower out of the garden and deleted the whole grass with a scraper and a cutter knife . After that I put on a coat from my wallpaper waste and put new grass from woodland scenic on it. And after hours of setting all the flowers on the right place , the whole thing was restored :-) ! I have made some pictures , although I hadn't daylight, but I'm so lucky now and show you them .




29 Kommentare:

  1. The whole piece is just wonderful. You two work so beautifully together.

    I have to tell you that I was looking hard for the problem as the 'dead grass' looked very effective too. Like the dried bark I have used on flower beds here in the UK!

    In fact I liked both the 'mistake' and the improved !!!

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  2. YES! Everything you and Karin collaborate on is always magnificent!

    The re-do you did in the garden came out beautifully.

    I do wondered about so many of the materials I use and how they will fair over time. I found some polymer clay miniatures up in my attic I bought over 20 years ago. They had shriveled up like raisins! It was scary. I want to think it was extreme temperatures that caused it.

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  3. What a beautiful scene! So glad you were able to fix it, and thanks for the warning! :)

    - Grace

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  4. When using natural moss tint it with acrylic paint that has been thinned with water to the consistency of regular water colors. It won't fade or turn brown and it last for many years.

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  5. What a marvellous scene. It's so realistic and painstakingly detailed.

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  6. I love it! You did a beautiful job and I'm so happy you shared this with us!

    Sara

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  7. It's a piece of art. Thank you for your advice and for sharing this experience.

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  8. I think that both scenes look good. The brown and the green version. ;-)
    And the hydrangea is absolutely spectacular.
    Christine

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  9. La escena es una auténtica maravilla, preciosa. Muchas gracias por el aviso.

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  10. I agree with other comments that the before and after both look good in their own way!
    But the fresh and green scene you restored it to is most wonderfull! Thanks for sharing the experience, I'm always afraid such things will happen to my miniature flowers and other stuff, what Catherine said sounds scary indeed :(

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  11. Can I ask what your secret is to preserve the color on your plants and flowers? Do you spray it with varnish or is it the material you use to make them? The flowers in the scene still look so very bright and colorfull

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  12. Das ist ja "witzig". Da welkt das Gras im Puppenhaus. ;-) Ich kann mir gut vorstellen, dass es dir sehr unangenehm war. Ich hatte mal Papier für Bücher benutzt, welches verblasste. War mir auch sehr peinlich. Aber du hast es ja wieder wundervoll restauriert.
    LG Jana

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  13. Hi Anneke, all the paper I use is hand painted with acrylic colors.I mix the color with much water and paint it several times.After that process you don't need varnish, the colors don't fade. In the beginning of flower making I also used water colors, but these flowers fade. Perhaps if you use fixative spray it will work, but I don't know?! I had have a costumer complaint with water colors and felt very sheepish about that, so I never used that! With varnish you will have the problem that the flowers shine and that would be unnatural.Hope that helps you ;-)!Jeannette

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  14. Hi Jeanette, I use natural materials a lot in my projects and your warning is timely. I have often wondered about dried flowers and I use Master spray paints for preserved flowers and moss for these materials. One of my trees I spray every 6 months to a year. But since this is my own project, I get away with it. :)

    Also want to thank Karin Corbin for her tip on thin arcylic. I will definitely do that from now on.

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  15. What a wonderful garden. I thank you so much for sharing this experience.
    Hugs Kati

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  16. Oh you poor poor thing. What a lot of extra work. Thank you so much for sharing your experience. But well done you for remaking it. The whole garden is absolutely beautiful. I am sure your client is delighted with it. And this time you know it will last! Best wishes,Carol :)

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  17. Was für ein wunderschöner Garten.
    lg Eva

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  18. I LOVE your little garden! I am so new to making flowers that I will be sure to learn from your mistake! Thank you for showing your project.... your plants are all so beautiful!

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  19. Jeannette Está escena es más que bella Ö No puedo cerrar la boca admirando lo hermosa que es....
    Un beso
    Flor

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  20. Thank you for the tip! It is always a bit of a gamble when using new materials. Luckily you were able to remedy the problem. It is a lovely garden!

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  21. Es fantasticamente real!!!!!
    Me encanta cada una de las plantas, flores y detalles, es una maravilla.
    besitos ascension

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  22. Thank you for the warning - it is generous of you to share. The restored garden is even more beautiful than before and you know it will last this time. I too admire the brown grass but the green certainly is more appropriate with the lush flowers. Your work is outstanding; I am full of admiration.

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  23. Jeanette, you did a wonderful job at recovering...the garden is just a dream!
    Love your work!

    ps...if you noticed my blog is removed....I'm very upset about it...I have to start all over again...let you know when I make my new blog, hope you will be a follower again?

    X,sabiha

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  24. Hi Sabiha,I wrote a comment in your second blog,hope this arrives you.Don't forget to drop a note to me,for sure I will follow again!!! It's a MUST ;-) Hugs,Jeannette

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  25. Hi dear, I made just my new blog...not much to see yet,lol! www.miniatureinteriors.blogspot.com

    Thanxxx! Sabiha

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  26. THank you for explaining about the paint and varnish! It helps me out alot! It saves me a lot of discovering and figuring out. It's never nice when something you worked on for many hours suddenly decides to change color so it's good to know how to prevent that!

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  27. The restoration is beautiful! :)

    Sorry you didn't know it was natural.

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  28. The garden is simply amazing. It is a shame that you had to do it twice but it turned out so beautiful taht, may be, afterall it was not a pity for your customer. He will be even happier now. HAve a nice evening, Rosanna

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