Sunset Garden - Week Four and the "Blue Room"

Despite not spending a lot of time working on miniatures this week, the appearance of the garden has changed quite dramatically.  First, the path of air-dry clay I put in last week has been taken out and replaced with gravel.  This is because I decided I didn't like the path as it was . . . too bad I don't really like it now either, it looks too much like the stream bed.  The path is made of fish tank gravel with some smaller model railway gravel mixed in.  The stream bed is just the smaller railway gravel.  In retrospect I should have tried to get some of the railway gravel in a different colour.  For both the path and the stream, the loose gravel was spread in position and then soaked with watered down PVA glue to glue it in place.  A small bridge made of balsa wood crossed the stream and connects the two sections of path.  The other advancement for the week was the addition of some plants and figurines.  The autumnal vine growing up the left hand wall is the vine I bought at the Hobart miniatures fair last month, the small tree is a fake bonsai like the larger autumn toned tree in the back right corner.  The "bushes" scattered about the garden are model railway foliage while the bits of green wedged between rocks and growing along the edges of the stream are lichen moss.  The remainder of the exposed ground will largely be covered with flowering plants which are yet to be made.  Finally, a winged unicorn, a mermaid and a scattering of faeries have taken up residence in the garden.

Also this week I have finally made a start on what for now is being called the "Blue Room".  This is going to be my princess' bedchamber which I may have talked about before on this blog.  Although it looks like it's going to have a strong Georgian influence to it, it is intended to be pure fantasy.  The wallpaper is actually scrapbooking paper I found in the local craft store months ago and just couldn't leave behind.  It has a lovely pearly sheen and by coincidence matches perfectly some faux silk dupion fabric I have which I will either use as an extravagant ceiling cover or to dress the bed or make curtains for the (currently non-existant) windows.  If I can find any fabric the right colour, I hope to use a powder pink as the other main colour in the room.  I will add some panelling around the bottom of the walls in white or cream.  The skeletal bed in the room is made from balsa wood and cardboard and will hopefully look better painted and dressed.  The dressing table and chair are out of my box of unused furniture and the wardrobe is the one I picked up at the miniatures fair last month.  All three will be painted to match the bed.