BASICS for CREATING
MINIATURE PONDS and WATERFALLS




Resin: Casting resin or Envirotex
Plaster of Paris
Styrofoam
Acrylic Paints: brown, tan (rocks) & shades of green (moss) blue/green (water) & white to mix with other colors for shading
Miniature Railroad landscape material (green foam turf)
White glue
Fimo fish
Artificial grasses and cattails

There are 2 kinds of resin.
-Casting resin smells pretty bad, so its best to do it outside. It's great if you want to add a waterfall, because you can make it bubble for a more natural look.
-Envirotex does not smell as bad but you cant get the bubbles.

DIRECTIONS:

Start with a piece of 1 inch thick styrofoam for the base. Then start adding little scraps of styrofoam as in any basic landscaping technique. If you want, build up an area for a waterfall. Gouge out a hole in the styrofoam to make the pond. Cover the whole thing with plaster. Make sure there are NO holes in the plaster coat, as resin will melt right through your styrofoam pond.
Once its dry, paint the rocks with the different shades of brown. The bottom of the pond should be shades of blue/green. Make it darker in the middle (deep area) and very light at the outer edges. Paint the inside of the pond and parts of the waterfall with dark and light mossy greens. Let that dry.

Working on small areas at a time; where ever you want a spot of moss, dab on glue using a brush. Then sprinkle on a bit of the green landscape material. You can also add bits of real moss, sticks etc. Continue on, until you have the desired effect you want. I like to make tall grasses and cattails to place around the waters edge.

When all the landscape material is in place, take a piece of plastic wrap and fasten it to the place where the waterfall will be. (this part can be hidden with rocks or shrubery. Drape it down your waterfall making sure the it hangs, perfectly straight. (Water drops straight down). At the bottom fasten it down. Move the base around a bit, until you get 'just the right look'.
Starting at the top of the fall; pour out a small amount of resin and let it flow into the pond.

Add some resin to the pond (about half full). Now is the time to add some fimo fish, for that special touch.
For bubbles or a frothy look, at the bottom of the falls;
Using casting resin: stir the base of the fall, with a tooth pic. The more you churn it up the frothier it will get.
Using Scenic Water: Insert a small cocktail straw into the resin at the base of the falls and blow gently.

Let it set, until the falls stiffen.

Pour more resin down the falls, then stir or blow more bubbles.
Let set and add more fish if desired. Finish pouring the falls and filling the pond.
Stir or blow, again until you have the look you want.
When resin is completely dry, finish by adding a few pebbes that form rock ledges. Add your plants around the pond.



For another pond tutorial, you can go HERE This one uses Scenic WaterŪ.
My opinion of Scenic WaterŪ is; It looks good, doesn't stink and cleans up easily. BUT; it doesn't dry hard, it dries to the consistency of stiff jello. Dust is going to stick to it, which is the main problem with this product. It's also a European import, so it's expensive. So I don't recommend it for ponds or bath tubs. It is nice filling pitchers, cups and glasses.




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