Beach house Part 9: the needle felted background

When last we left the needle felted background, it was roughly mapped and the hanging system was worked out (see Part 2).  Now, for the fun part, the poking!

First the tree line in the distance was more defined, then I added the water.  What a lovely shade of blue, with a slightly darker shade in the distance and lighter where the water touches the sand with a wee bit of a wave made of silken fibres.

Then I added the trees, shrubs and grasses.

At this point, I tested the view from the window only to discover it was very boring, you couldn't see much of anything...

So I extended the water and the beach grass...

And got a much more interesting and colorful view, even with a few seagulls.

It was looking pretty good so I also checked the garden side to see how that looked.

It was now time to make the beach piece that would come up to the door.  This I knew would be the tricky part, to transition from a 2D picture to a 3D piece.

The fibre for my beach is from 3dogknits and is an absolutely gorgeous blend of merino, silk and flax called Tea Time.  I knew the minute I saw it I would use it for a beach!  

 

(As you can see, I also was tweaking the garden side, adding more canopy and shading.)

The first attempt I had the water meeting the sand after the fold and it was too close to the house... Rather than relaxing, it looked like the house would be swallowed up in a flood!  

After much deliberation and input, the sand was extended past the fold and at an angle so that the 2D-3D transition point was only sand.  

Here's the view from inside the house.  (The horizon line will be straight when it's properly installed, right now the background is only wedged into place and partially held up by the house.)

I'm not quite sure if this is finished but I'm leaving it for now.

So that I can play with the garden: Part 10!

Beach house Part 8: the roof

The roof!  First, for stability (and to hide a little crooked boo-boo), I added a lovely piece of trim along the roof line at the back, painting it white.   

The four skylights needed glass, so I cut a very thin acetate sheet and frames to hold them in place.  These were glued and held quite well just using white glue.

And the room had a roof!  Lots of sunlight can get in so the room will be nice and bright, but the doors and windows will keep the air fresh and cool.

The picture frame insert I used was about 2 inches too short, so I had cut a similar piece of cardboard to cover the little gap.  It has a small ledge so the bigger piece fits into it and prevents it from sliding down.  

Here's the view from the top.

Looking good!

I decided not to include lights on the inside of the room at this time, hoping to find battery powered lights to add later on.  Also, I left the roof removable in case I change my mind!  I don't want wires to ruin the look, but I will add lights to the garden.