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!

Mushrooms in a fine wood

Last year in our mini "workshop" (see the July 22, 2021 blogpost), we created needle felted fly agaric mushrooms, "faery mushrooms".  Of course, our mushrooms need a home so that's what I've been working on.

Through sheer luck, I found this beautiful wood display base in great condition, even with felt underneath.  It's a nice size, at about 14 inches by 5 inches.  

I cut a piece of foam to fit over top.  

I then used this gorgeous "Fine Wood" 70% Alpaca / 30% Wool fibre from Wellington Fibres to create the ground layer on my foam, gently needle felting it in place. 

I love the result!  Look at all the rich shades of brown! 

So now I had my base in earthy, forest browns and attached the mushrooms by inserting long pins from the underside of the foam.  The tips of the pins are embedded in the mushrooms so it's safe!

There's also a young fern with fiddleheads created by using the template available from Mum's Makery.  Just the thing for our micro forest floor scene!   

Now, it's time to embellish!