In this part of the tutorial we finish off the bonsai tree by doing the potting, ground, soil and ground cover work.

Part 1 of this tutorial is here

If your bonsai tree isn't already firmly secured into the pot you can do that at this point with wire, hot glue or both. In this step we are protecting the outer surface of the pot with tape. We are also protecting a little bit of the inner lip of the bowl with tape. This is so it stays pristine while we work on it. We will remove that tape later. The blue tape here is painters tape which is very easy to remove.

Fill the pot with some kind of a filling material. We used ground up foam. You can use just about anything including small pieces of crumpled newspaper. Make it mound a little bit toward the trunk of the tree. You don't want it to be a totally flat ground surface.

Now we coat the ground with something. We are using plaster cloth which is perfect for this. You can also do this with paper mache. (2 cups water, 2 cups flour, dip newspaper strips in it and wipe off excess) Allow one layer to dry and apply a second layer of either the plaster cloth or paper mache.

Once it is dry, just a few minutes, go ahead and paint it green, black, or brown. Or any color you prefer.

Now we do the ground cover and pencil shavings are perfect for this.

You can also use standard terrain textures for this. The kind of stuff that you buy at hobby shops.

Mix the pencil shavings with green paint and spread them out on a paper towel to dry. Once they dry you can break them up a bit with your fingers to get them even and consistent.

Let's apply the pencil shavings to the ground. Brush on a thick layer of white glue. Then sprinkle the pencil shavings right on it all.

It looks great! Let it dry! Your wire bonsai tree is done. But I do have some optional stuff you might want to look at including adding flowers to the tree and using a different type of texture for the leaves.

You can see those techniques right here on the next page

How to Make Miniature trees from Household materials

Miniature trees are expensive. But I have a nice alternative. You can make them with three materials: Brown paper, a kitchen sponge and glue. And they come out great. Make Miniature Trees

Make a Nebula in a bottle

A nebula is a beautiful object in the night sky. And you can have one on your bureau or desk. I show you how to make one with a few around the house items. Make a nebula in a bottle

Bushes Shaker, Light Green/50 cu. in.

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