Another approach to plants

You'll need to do a click on the picture to get a better look at what's going on here.  I can't really tell you how to do these as the instructions came from someone who sells them - The Miniature Garden - so that would be a bit naughty.  I can, however tell you they are made from masking tape, florist wire, some glue and acrylic paint.  I also glossed my leaves with nail polish.  I was making a mother-in-laws tongue plant and people used to wipe all their glossy leaved plants with a little milk (or cream!) to make them shine, so they needed a bit of a boost from the matt acrylic finish I had given them.

Now I've got the bit between my teeth I might have a go at making better ones than the two I have done so far.  They just need a bit more care and detail.  I may not have to buy my house plants after all.  Let's see how I do when I make the very tall parlour palm I want for the salon. 

This second attempt came in with a couple of improvements.  Firstly, I filled the bottom of the pot with a little black Fimo.  I wanted the extra weight but mostly I wanted to be able to push in the leaves and have them stay in place.  When I made the areca the stems were a bit twirly in the sand until the glue hardened up and that took too long to hang on to them, so some aren't quite as I would want.  This way the 'tongues' stayed where I wanted them to go; I topped up the pot with my Marilyn created dirt and here they are.


I wanted this plant to replace the vase of red roses which I have always thought looks out of place in a 1911 parlour over a shop in October, when roses would have been a very expensive purchase.  It will look even better when I find a mirror for this space.

The pot again is made from the wooden floor paper and this time I left it just with a glue wash for a bit of a shine.  I think it looks a bit like a bamboo cache pot.  Bamboo was all the rage in 1911 and Ellen (so far) only has two small mirrors in bamboo.... she and I need to go shopping.