This is a beautiful diorama made by Eleanor. She used a variety of diorama making techniques for this diorama including rock making and water making. The waterfall is spectacular.

Eleanor also wanted to mention that she learned all these techniques right here on StormTheCastle.com.

She shows us some closeup pictures of the work she has done. The building itself was a gift someone gave to her.

Eleanor made the granny sleep cap and bed cape for the wolf out of an old doily, thin satin ribbon and some embroidered flower appliques that she'd long ago cut off of something or other and put in her sewing basket.

Eleanor Gives us some tips on how she made this diorama and gives us some ideas

• Tree trunks: I coated wooden dowels with Elmer's wood filler to add texture to the tree trunks , then I scored the filler here and there with a fingernail to simulate tree bark.  When they were dry, I dry-brushed the trunks with acrylic paint.  I temporarily ran out of white acrylic paint, so I highlighted some of the ridges by lightly brushing the long side of a piece of white chalk over them and then gently rubbing the chalked ridges with my finger to help set the chalk.
• Waterfall: I had trouble peeling the dried caulk off the waxed paper, so I tried making the waterfall on clear plastic wrap instead.  Plastic wrap is flimsier than waxed paper, so it was more difficult to work with, but peeling the dried waterfall off was a snap.
• Pond: I had trouble getting the Water Effects splashes to look right.  I found that with some brisk rubbing (but using very light pressure) with fingernail polish remover (acetone) applied to an old (but clean) dry washcloth, the Water Effects gradually came off so that I could try again. The polish remover didn't harm the Realistic Water pond, but I rinsed the pond by dabbing it with clear cool tap water after using the polish remover to be on the safe side.  After rinsing the pond with tap water, I dabbed it with a different cloth to dry it.
• Branchy shrubs on right-hand side of house, behind a clump of yellow flowers: I cut up a tumbleweed and coated some of the spiky branches with glue and sprinkled and pressed on dried parsley flakes. 
• Sections of tumbleweeds would probably make good large trees too, especially gnarly, spooky ones.
• Here's an idea for tiny animal figurines:  Use earrings.  I couldn't find small enough frog figurines for the diorama, so I'm going to buy some frog earrings to use for pond frogs. I should be able to find some novelty frog earrings that are the right scale for the diorama.  If the earrings are metallic or not the color I want, I'll paint them.  If they're post earrings, I could cut off the posts, or I could leave them on and use them to stick the frogs where I want them.  If they're wire earrings, I could just remove the wires and touch up any holes.  I'll probably use two different styles of frog earrings - one sitting frog and one leaping - and use one of each style.  Earrings would probably work for certain other tiny figurines too. 

She tells us abouit making the tufts of grass:

I made the tufts of long grass out of dead grass I'd cut from the meadow behind my house.  Using a paint brush, I swooshed some of the grass blades around in a containers of various shades of  undiluted green acrylic paint.

Jack and the beanstalk bio diorama - Neat project with Jack and the giant and I used a real beanstalk. I call this type of diorama a "Bio Diorama" because they have a live component to them Jack and the Beanstalk diorama

Love to Make Dioramas?
Check out my book on how to make fantasy and medieval dioramas. I put all my best techniques and tricks in this book!

How to make Fantasy and Medieval Dioramas

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