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Post by Neyjour on Feb 27, 2017 7:48:46 GMT
Don't forget PVA Glue!
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Post by Neyjour on Feb 26, 2017 21:56:34 GMT
margaret - If I find a use for the actual seed, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks! tauster - I love mushrooms too! Hehe. Good luck with your acorn shrooms! Sam - Nice use of those shells! I hadn't even considered using shells for mini terrain until I stumbled onto a YouTube vid by Commissar Gamza (Tyranid terrain tutorial). I don't live by the ocean anymore, so I'd have to buy mine, unfortunately... (store-bought are usually too shiny and perfect, and look a bit artificial to me).
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Post by Neyjour on Feb 26, 2017 21:28:48 GMT
guillaume, sotf - Thanks for the wire info. I have some pipe cleaners (bought them for DIY crystal growing), so I'll be good to go when I want to make more vines-like things. voodoo - Good luck with your tentacles! I look forward to seeing them.
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Post by Neyjour on Feb 25, 2017 19:51:02 GMT
margaret - I had no idea what "bracts" were (had to Google them). What a terrific idea to use them as ivy/tree leaves! I especially like the ivy leaf idea... I can just imagine how great they'd look on some "hot glue" vines, climbing up a tree or the side of some ruins. sotf - The eggs have been blown out, so there's no chance of rot. They seem to be much stronger than chicken eggs, but I still decided to strengthen them up a bit more by letting them soak in a layer of watered-down PVA glue, and then gave them a coat of varnish. tauster - I'm really enjoying the "Flotsam and Jetsam" thread! Since I found the forums, I've been slowly working my way though it (bookmarking as I go). I was considering just posting there, but eventually decided that I really wanted a thread that was organic/nature specific. A couple other things I'd like to start collecting are acorn caps and tree roots. I've seen the acorn caps used as mushrooms, and I had no idea how terrific roots would look for fallen/dead trees until I saw this awesome tutorial by Lukes Aps: Cheap and Easy Obstacles Terrain using tree roots (Dead Trees)
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Post by Neyjour on Feb 24, 2017 21:25:51 GMT
* Post photos (or just tell us) of any organic/nature materials you've found for your crafting projects. * Show us any projects you've made using these types of materials. * Ask for suggestions/ideas on how to use the things you've found (and the best way to cure and prepare them). * Tell us what types of things you'd like to go hunting for, to use for future projects. Note: This thread is just for raw found materials, not something you've purchased in a store as a ready-to-use material (packaged moss, bark, stones, etc.). I'm really looking forward to seeing what others have found! ------------------------------ Here's a few things I've found and plan to use: The tip of an Angora buck horn, broken off this year, during rut. An Angora doe horn that fell off a couple years ago. I'm glad I saved it! A tortoise skeleton. Found it earlier this winter when we were taking the dogs for a walk. Only found this inner carapace piece (none of the other bones). Some polypores I pulled off of a fallen log this winter. Some paper wasp nests I collected last year. They love to make these on/under our house, and inside the compartment where our water heater is. They're very prolific, but thankfully we haven't been stung yet... Turtle eggs, courtesy of one of my Red-Eared Sliders. She had a lot of eggs this year, and I managed to save these (along with a few broken pieces) before she (and her mate) smashed them all into useless little bits. More eggs, courtesy of one of my Cockatiels. She laid these about a week ago, and today she's nesting again, so I may get a few more soon. Not sure yet what exactly I'm going to use all of this stuff for, though I do have a few vague ideas running through my head. Obviously, the eggs and wasp nests are a bit delicate and probably not a good idea for gaming terrain, but perhaps for some gaming-inspired display pieces that won't be handled too much.
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Post by Neyjour on Feb 24, 2017 19:06:48 GMT
guillaume - Ah, good point! I'll definitely try that method instead. Thanks! sotf - Thanks for the tip! The one thing that I did find a bit frustrating with this method was the difficulty in shaping them, and trying to keep them from un-spiraling while doing that. Wire will make it so much easier! ivenbach - Haha! Thanks.
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Post by Neyjour on Feb 24, 2017 18:49:04 GMT
Great looking beds! Thanks for the tutorial. Ditto what Sam said about the volume... I had to crank it up on my comp, speakers, and the vid to hear it properly. I've subscribed, and I'm looking forward to seeing more in the future!
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Post by Neyjour on Feb 24, 2017 18:13:44 GMT
Wonderful job on this! Everything looks fantastic! But my favourite little part has got to be that awesome barricaded double-door. Love it! I don't think I've ever seen someone do one like that before. You even parted them slightly and have the wood bar just beginning to break. That's a fantastic little detail. Really makes you wonder what's behind those doors, trying to force them open! EDIT: I tried to Exalt you for this, but couldn't. Got an error message, and then tried to do it from your Profile instead, but it says I can't do it again until "x" time (even though I haven't done an Exalt before). Grr! Ah well... will try again later!
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Post by Neyjour on Feb 23, 2017 16:07:59 GMT
guillaume - Thanks. I feel there's a bit too much grey on them. At a later date I may try to dry-brush some black to tone it down.
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Post by Neyjour on Feb 23, 2017 15:37:45 GMT
Finally done! I'm not 100% happy with the rocks, but overall I'm fairly satisfied with how they turned out. And it was a lot of fun!
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Post by Neyjour on Feb 21, 2017 19:46:29 GMT
margaret - Thanks for the goodwill/thrift store info! We actually have several of those in some of the small towns around us (only about 20-30 mins away). It's been several years since I've been to one, but I remember them having all sorts of interesting little odds and ends. Even if I can't find the cake pillars, they might be a good source for other crafting materials! grandinquisitorkris - I'll keep an eye out for your vid! And thank you for the multi-person/coupon idea!
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Post by Neyjour on Feb 21, 2017 19:37:15 GMT
sgtslag - Same here... I was really excited about the possibilities of what could be done with the Alum crystals. Ah well, I'm not throwing in the towel on them just yet. But in the meantime, I may experiment a bit with the Borax crystals. The ones in the video I linked in my initial post looked really cool.
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Post by Neyjour on Feb 20, 2017 16:20:25 GMT
guillaume - Haha! Well, for the past 18 years or so we've lived in very rural locations where a decent bakery would be an hour (or longer) drive away. The last place we lived would have been a 2 to 2 1/2 hour drive. I don't really enjoy cooking (or baking), but when we get a craving for something that's "home made" quality, I just bake it myself.
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Post by Neyjour on Feb 20, 2017 15:56:00 GMT
skunkape - Thank you! I'd forgotten about Michaels coupons. It looks like there's a Jo-Ann down around the area where we go, so I'll also check into coupons for that one as well. I guess I just got unlucky with the Dollar Tree, but I'm glad to know they do carry them! I'll keep an eye out on future visits.
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Post by Neyjour on Feb 20, 2017 15:41:17 GMT
Well, another failure... This time I used water that was just below boiling and the alum completely dissolved with a few stirs. (I stirred before I added the food colouring, so I could see everything clearly). But again, nothing actually grew. I ended up with a pile of alum "slush" that settled over the egg shell, and all over the bottom of the jar. And all the granules I had seeded onto the shell just crumbled right off. Might try once more with a different brand, but probably not for a while. I already spent quite a bit of money on crafting supplies, and don't want to buy another batch of alum right now. For anyone else that might be interested in trying this, these are the brands I used: 1st experiment: McComick Alum for the seeding, and JACQUARD Alum for the solution. 2nd experiment: JACQUARD Alum for both seeding and solution. I didn't do a test with the McCormick Alum for both seeding and solution because I didn't have enough. It's just a tiny little 1.9 oz jar.
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Post by Neyjour on Feb 20, 2017 15:23:57 GMT
guillaume - Thanks for the suggestion. But I don't frequent any bakeries. I don't think I've even set foot inside of one (that wasn't part of a Walmart, HEB, Krogers, etc.) in more than 20 years. I can't remember exactly how much they were at Michaels (and I'm getting no results with a search on their website). The Walmart website is showing they have them, but also a bit pricey. Hobby Lobby the same. And the Dollar Tree website is showing no results, plus I didn't see any when I was in the actual store. Has anyone ever seen them in a dollar store?
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Post by Neyjour on Feb 20, 2017 14:08:09 GMT
Very helpful. Thank you! I especially liked the idea of using wedding cake pillars. Never would have thought of that! And also, putting 4 of them together to create a larger base... that's brilliant! Makes for a much more visually interesting piece than something that's just a single "solid" piece. How about spacing the 4 apart and adding a flat stone slab on top, that's maybe a half inch thick, or possibly even thicker (depending on the size of the statue and how far apart you've spaced the 4 squat pillars). Then add the actual statue piece on top of that. The stone slab could either be large enough to completely cover and line up with all the corners of the tops of the pillars, or you could make it slightly smaller, to give it a "stair-stepping" effect. The pillars could also be cut so that they're just tall enough for a character to walk under. Has anyone found these wedding cake pillars at a reasonable price? I saw them in Michaels the other day, but passed on them because they were a bit pricey. I haven't had a chance to check Hobby Lobby, or anywhere else yet...
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Post by Neyjour on Feb 18, 2017 7:09:58 GMT
voodoo - Thanks very much!
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Post by Neyjour on Feb 17, 2017 21:41:38 GMT
tauster - Thanks! They're all done now (I only made four of them), but I understand what you mean! I tried that with the first one, but the base is so small that it's difficult to get much variation in size. If I cut them too big, the bottom corners would stick out past the edge of the base, and I wasn't comfortable trying to cut really small slivers... I was scared of cutting my fingers if the blade slipped. If I ever do something like this again, with a larger base to work with or something that's built right into a terrain piece, I'd definitely try for more variety in size, shape, length, and maybe even angle some of the pieces differently to make it look really broken and ragged.
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Post by Neyjour on Feb 17, 2017 20:31:53 GMT
margaret - Thanks very much for the info/link! Hopefully the water temp is the reason why it didn't work. I really don't want to buy more alum... sotf - The pan is just what I was keeping them in, while the glue dried and I waited for my alum order to arrive. For the actual growing, I did it in glass jars, with a piece of paper towel over the tops.
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